{"id":13225,"date":"2026-01-21T09:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13225"},"modified":"2026-01-21T09:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:24:14","slug":"uw-stout-students-collaborate-across-degrees-in-community-project-for-the-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-stout-students-collaborate-across-degrees-in-community-project-for-the-neighbors\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Stout students collaborate across degrees in community project for The Neighbors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>
Madelyn Pretzer, Tanner Schauf, Brandy Wolf and Erika Rivolta build a tool bench for The Neighbors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction, interior design, technology education majors build garden products for senior living home residents<\/h2>\n

In a cross-disciplinary collaboration, four groups of students in\u00a0Lecturer James Bunkelman<\/strong>\u2019s Light Construction Methods class are designing and building two raised garden beds, one raised tool bench and one raised tool holder for a senior living home.<\/p>\n

The project is part of a service-learning activity, as their final products will be delivered to The Neighbors of Dunn County for the residents to use and enjoy in their garden.<\/p>\n

The project was launched last summer during a new\u00a0STEAM camp for high school students<\/a>. The Blueprint for Success: Construction Career Camp, led by\u00a0Assistant Professor Janelle Skoyen Hestekin<\/strong>, blended practical construction skills with community engagement, thanks to a partnership with Junior Achievement and The Neighbors.<\/p>\n

The high school students built prototypes of the garden beds and benches after meeting with The Neighbors residents to learn about their needs, laying the groundwork for the UW-Stout students\u2019 projects.<\/p>\n

When Bunkelman\u2019s university students took the project on, \u201cI told them to have fun. I told them what they were to build, but not how to do it. They have free rein in their research, designs and building processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A group of four students is completing an ADA-compliant raised tool bench, built with treated two-by-four pine boards and capable of holding 200 pounds, they estimate. The cross-disciplinary team is:<\/p>\n