An old abandoned doughnut shop in Hurst is getting a new life. It’ll soon serve up coffee but in the meantime it’s serving a valuable lesson to high schoolers. NBC 5’s Wayne Carter explains how Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD students are helping with real world job experiences to better their communities.
Abandoned long ago, the City of Hurst didn't know what to do with an old donut shop on West Pipeline Road.
No one wanted to buy it and spend the money to fix it up, and the city couldn't afford a job like that -- or could they?
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WATCH HEREThe Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD has a Career and Technical Center where high schoolers study architecture and interior design.
"Usually they just get whatever project I give to them and I make up," said teacher Tim Anderson.
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SIGN UP This time the students got to tour a real-life building, and get an assignment, to redesign it into a coffee shop.
"If it was a donut shop before, you're gonna want to wipe off, like the oils and stuff from baking, but now it's a coffee shop, you're not gonna really, it's not necessary to use stuff like this," said student Tori Ojeda.
The kids have gone back and forth from coffee shop to classroom, trying to figure out how to make this work.
Carter In The Classroom
Focusing on unique things school districts are doing to help children succeed.
"We have a couple of architects in each group and a couple of interior designers in each group so that they collaborate like they would in the real world," said Anderson.
"I've been interested in drawing since very little. My dad's a graphic designer, so we've always drawn together. And, you know, I like to build stuff with my hands," said student Keanu Hoerner.
These students are studying everything from the mechanics of load-bearing walls to the beauty of designing a gorgeous and functional space, all while still in high school.
The students will present their final ideas to the city which will choose the winning team and hire construction workers to make the students' plan come to life, transforming this eyesore into something spectacular.
"It changes the whole mindset into like, wow, this is actually gonna become a thing, you know, totally," said Tam Tieu.
It doesn't stop there. It won't just be any coffee shop but one operated by the special needs students in HEB ISD. It's a concept popular in schools now, teaching those students what it's like to place orders, count change, and serve customers so they too can be a part of the workforce.
In the end, one old abandoned donut shop gives back to arts, engineering and job skills.
