It takes time, effort, and dedication to get where Reanna Friesen and Connor Brick are today.
The pair from Steinbach Regional Secondary School (SRSS) faced off with hundreds of other students in Skills Manitoba, a provincial competition that challenges students' skills in various trades.
Both Friesen and Brick walked away with gold medals, and will be heading to Regina next month to compete in Skills Canada, a national competition.
Connor Brick: Gold medalist in cabinet making
"I was very surprised. I was not expecting a medal in the competition, but I was very happy that I got a medal. Especially the gold," says Brick, who earned his keep in cabinet making by building a campaign table.
He says it involved a using a lot of power tools to cut the pieces of the pieces of the table down to length and use various techniques to piece it together, some parts being quite intricate.
Winning in cabinet making wasn't originally the plan though—he was going to enter for framing, given that's what he's always been interested in.
"When I was little, my dad worked at McMunn and Yates. I always said I wanted to be like my dad and work with wood and stuff. For the last few summers I've been working at Springwood Homes Construction Company," he says.
"I take pretty much all the carpentry classes at school. I'm more of a framer than a find woodworker, but I can still do it apparently."
He is feeling a little nervous as he considers what awaits him in Regina, but is confident his coach will train him well, he says.
Beyond competing, he intends on pursuing his Red Seal and Journeyman status in carpentry.
Reanna Friesen: Gold medalist in welding
Friesen had her eyes set on gold from the beginning, she says, but that didn't dull the moment her win was announced.
"To hear your name called was really exciting and fun. I don't remember it all because I was like, 'Oh my word,' but it was so fun," she says.
Her competition project was welding a "shape" of sorts using a combination of different joints.
Friesen says she first got a taste of welding in grade nine as a part of the SRSS' Try-a-Trade program. Welding was the last one she tried.
"I kind of always thought I would do hair styling or something, and then I did welding and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I love this,' so then I stuck with it and here we are now," she says.
As Skills Canada approaches, she is excited and will keep practicing and honing her skills.
After graduation, she says she'll continue pursuing welding and likely go for her Red Seal.
What the coaches have to say
Merle Schmidt is Brick's carpentry instructor and coach at the SRSS.
He says the program has been very successful over the years in carpentry and cabinet making and it's been great to see Brick lean into both sides of the skill.
"He did put in a lot of good effort in training and he shone on the day of the competition as well," Schmidt says.
Thomas Wittebolle, Friesen's welding instructor and coach, speaks highly of the young welder's skills as well.
"Every challenge she comes across, she tackles it with a level mindset and the knowledge that she has the tools in her toolbox—both virtually and physically—to tackle those problems and challenges, and she just overcomes it with sheer will," he says.
He adds she shows a strong understanding of the trade, beyond what she is required to know.
It's a characteristic that befits both competitors, he says, and will suit them well as they head to Skills Canada to compete against other provincial gold medalists.
"They're lucky to be considered the best in Manitoba for their respective fields. It is not an easy honour, and like they both mentioned, everybody wants it. So the competition is never easy for them," Wittebolle says.
"They both put in extra hours and they go above the curriculum. It's the reason they're both here."