VERSAILLES — Noah Barga is a senior at Versailles High School and participates in the Agriculture Education Capstone Program and has been selected as the capstone highlight student of the month.
The Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone Program is in its ninth year of existence. Noah is the son of Michael and Gwen Barga of North Star, Ohio. Capstone is a program that gives Versailles High School Junior and Senior Students that are enrolled in agriculture education an opportunity to gain real world employment experiences and opportunities while in high school.
Noah started working at A.L. Smith Trucking in January 2020 and has continued to work throughout his senior year and has worked more than 1,300 hours. Noah’s primary roles at A.L. Smith Trucking includes: servicing trucks, changing brakes and tires, replacing air bags, slack adjusters and s-cams. Noah also repairs and changes lights, some electrical repair, and repairs truck and trailer suspension components.
Shawn Wehrkamp, the Shop Manager at A.L. Smith, said, “Noah has been a real asset to the A.L. Smith shop. Noah is on time for work, stays on task, very detailed oriented, excellent work ethic and overall ideal employee. Noah is approachable and willing to jump in to help with any task asked of him and works well with the staff at A.L. Smith. Noah has all the qualities A.L. Smith looks for in an employee.”
Noah plans to attend the University of Northwestern College in Lima, Ohio, majoring in diesel mechanics with the plans to return A.L. Smith Trucking after graduation.
A.L. Smith Trucking, Inc. is a 100-percent refrigerated carrier that regularly services the East, South and Midwest markets. For over 40 years, A.L. Smith Trucking, Inc. has been servicing the temperature-controlled transportation sector. A. L. Smith Trucking, Inc. was founded by Alvin Smith in 1956. Since then, A.L. Smith Trucking Inc has developed a niche of servicing the transportation needs of temperature-controlled products. Dedicated management and drivers has helped A.L. Smith Trucking, Inc. become the reliable and trustworthy carrier it is today. A.L. Smith Trucking, Inc. operates its own repair facility.
This year, a record 39 students are enrolled in the Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone programs and are leaving school after their daily required courses are complete and working at area businesses. The goal of the spotlight is to highlight each month one of the students that participate in the capstone program and highlight the skills/knowledge they are gaining, the roles/assets they are to their business. The students enrolled in capstone also use their employment as their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. As part of their grade in capstone, students are required to keep detailed records of their hours worked, earnings and skills performed. In addition to the record books, capstone students are being evaluated at the end of each nine weeks by an evaluation completed by their employer.
Congratulations to Noah and Thank You to A.L. Smith for this opportunity.
