Carpentry Program Hosts Norwegian High School Students

May 02, 2018

The Delgado Community College Technical Division's Carpentry program welcomed visiting students from Byremo Upper Secondary School in Norway. The April 30 visit was organized by request from Eivind Systad. who teaches building construction at the school.

Professor Kenneth Williams Sr., who runs the Delgado Carpentry program, is a NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research) certified carpentry instructor. He and his students organized the visit in cooperation with Assistant Dean Lesha Coulon, manager of the Delgado Jefferson site.

Systad and his students are in New Orleans from April 23 to May 4. They are working with Habitat for Humanity to build houses in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. They are based at Scandia House Jazz Church and Cultural Center, formerly the Norwegian Seamen’s Church, in the Garden District of New Orleans.

Byremo Upper Secondary School is situated in the south of Norway. The school offers a variety of educational programs, and all of the students visiting the United States are enrolled in the school's carpentry program.

Carpentry students from Byremo have been to New Orleans to work with Habitat for Humanity in previous years, but this is the first time they visited Delgado.

Williams and his Delgado Carpentry students have also done public service to assist people affected by natural disasters, including the Baton Rouge floods in 2016.

"It is interesting to see how the education system works in the USA compared to Norway," Systad said. "We appreciate the opportunity to come and visit your school."