PVHS senior making her mark in construction

Katrina Kilby is an energetic soul. The daughter of Elaine Schulze and Brian Kilby of Gap and soon-to-be Pequea Valley High School (PVHS) graduate is working full-time in construction for Benchmark Construction Co. Inc. as part of the team that is remodeling the interior of the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, located at 45 S. Queen St., Lancaster, for LancasterHistory. She likes the job because it keeps her active. "It's hands-on, and I'm not sitting behind a desk," said a smiling Kilby. "I am on my feet all day."

Kilby's interest in construction, and specifically carpentry, can be traced to her eighth-grade year at Pequea Valley Intermediate School, where a STEM teacher suggested she look into the C.O.R.E. - Career Occupation Relevancy Education - Academy. C.O.R.E. teaches skill development while also offering integrated academic instruction to PVHS students. The program introduces students to trades they may not have considered.

Kilby's ninth-grade C.O.R.E. class built a shed outside the classroom that the academy now uses for storage. "We built the shed from the ground up," said Kilby. "We framed it, and we finished the outside."

In Kilby's sophomore year, the academy learned about motors, which did not catch her interest the way carpentry had. "I decided to go to LCCTC (Lancaster County Career & Technology Center) for construction (in my sophomore year)," explained Kilby, who noted the students built mock houses inside the shop, which they then dismantled at the end of the school year. "I liked that, so I went into the carpentry program, which I am in now," explained Kilby.

In the spring of 2023, Bill Lastinger, chair of the ABC Keystone Apprenticeship & Craft Training Committee and general superintendent with Benchmark Construction Co. Inc., visited Kilby's class at LCCTC. "He said he had openings for over the summer," recalled Kilby. "So I submitted my resume, and he hired me." During the summer following her junior year, Kilby worked for Benchmark in a number of settings, including in Philadelphia and in Millersville and Washington Boro.

When Kilby returned to LCCTC as a full-time student in the fall of 2023, she soon found herself working for Benchmark again. At first, she went to the job site only one day per week, but a month later, that grew to two days. Kilby said much of her time was spent working on a WellSpan building located on Oregon Pike, but beginning April 29, she was assigned five days a week to the Queen Street building, and she will return there following graduation on Wednesday, May 29.

As a laborer, Kilby said she does whatever is needed, including moving materials, installing paper towel dispensers, and cleaning. At the Queen Street location, she has been busy helping to construct walls. "Right now, we are building forms so we can pour concrete into them and make walls," said Kilby. Looking ahead, Kilby hopes to continue building on what she has learned since her freshman year. "Really all I want to do is get more skilled in construction and learn as much as I can," she said, adding that she has no preference for one type of building over another. "I like it all," said Kilby. "As long as I am not standing around doing nothing."