They say it takes love to turn a house into a home.
For one Colorado teenager, it was her parents’ love, as well as her own determination, that made her dreams come true.
And it began with a craftsmanship class at her high school.
Vitoria Turner, 18, worked alongside 100 other students in the building and construction class. Together, they worked on building a 1,200-square-foot house.
It feels really good that I was a part of this,” she said.
Her dream, Victoria said, began when she was very young.
The interior of the home that former high school student Victoria Turner participated in its construction. Photo by Academy District 20
“Since I was seven or eight, I wanted to go into construction because I wanted to be like my brother,” she said. “Four years ago, when I realized I could be a part of a class where we build a house, I thought it’d be a good idea. So I applied.”
Over the three years, the students took on varying tasks.
“For the most part, I pretty much did a lot of the carpentry, which is floorboard and stuff like that,” says Victoria, who also did a majority of the plumbing work, put up some drywall and worked on the exterior of the house.
The work was time-consuming.
“We would be building the house three hours a day, but we did it every other day, so six to nine hours a week,” she said.
When the house was nearly done, Victoria’s parents had a surprise in store for her.
Victoria Turner, center, who will be living in a home that she helped build, and her family. Photo by Academy District 20
“Last year I overheard our student liaison and Mr. Hernandez talking about some guy who wanted to buy it,” Victoria said. “Then I made a joke about how if my mom bought it, it would be the biggest take-home project ever.”
But Victoria said her mom replied, ‘”Actually, I’m interested in that.’”
“So I brought it up to Mr. Hernandez and he told me that he would rather our family have it,” Victoria said.
The now-finished home is set to be taken to Victoria’s parents property soon. Victoria was given the keys to the house, where both she and her sister will live.
“Nowadays, it’s pretty expensive, so we won’t have to rent an apartment or any of that,” Victoria said.
It’s really nice to have our own little place.”
After her graduation, the school’s program helped her get a job in roofing.
“A lot of my co-workers have said I’m the only female they’ve ever seen in the roofing business and some of them have been working for 30-plus years,” Victoria said.
As one of the only girls in the program, she wanted to carve a path for more to join.
“I think it’s really cool to help other females who are like scared or whatever to be in male-dominated jobs to push them to change the workforce,” said Turner.
As for the proceeds of the house? That money will be funneled right back into the school program and a new house will begin construction next month.
Watch below for a look at this amazing young woman!
