Standing in the construction site, with feet sinking in loose dirt, I crane my neck upward to watch the masons climb the towering scaffolding along the school’s exterior.

Their goal is to get walls and a roof up before the harsh Michigan winter hits.

But before they can even begin the meticulous work of hand-laying each concrete brick of the foundation, the scaffolding must be approved by the project foreman, Shawn Hawthorne.

Although the task is seemingly insignificant, one missed detail could have deadly consequences.

Since Hawthorne began working in construction at 19, he’s completed over 60 projects. But he didn’t always know his future would be in construction.

“I worked at a couple factories, and that just wasn’t for me,” Hawthorne said. “I like to be outside. And in Michigan, you get a little bit of everything with the hot summers, cold winters and rainy seasons.”

Apart from being outside, Hawthorne’s favorite part of his work is collaborating with various crews to solve problems.

“You got good guys out in the field that can come up with solutions to fix any problem,” Hawthorne said. “That’s a lot of what my enjoyment is—helping to work through unexpected problems and watching everything come together in the end.”

Luckily for him, school renovations often come with a handful of hidden obstacles.

ELHS has been under construction since June 2025. The project, run by Clark Construction, will expand the cafeteria for the growing student population and redo the front entry and office to increase school security.

“Schools specifically are pretty intricate, especially when you’re remodeling,” Hawthorne said. “When you’re connecting an old building to a new building, there’s a lot unforeseen. But we make a plan, and I get to watch everything come together in the end.”

But while the unforeseen is what makes his job exciting, being responsible for so many lives isn’t easy.

“Being a project foreman, you have a lot of worries,” Hawthorne said. “I worry about my guys and that they’re safe in what they’re doing. I wake up at two o’clock in the morning sometimes, and this is what’s on my mind. My top priority is making sure everybody goes home at night.”

And his worries are not an exaggeration.

Joe Lorenz is the project manager for the site. His job is to evaluate drawings, break up the work into different specialties and decide which contractors to hire the specialty workers from.

Through his years of work, he’s learned the dangers that come with the job. While most liabilities are caught before disaster, such as the time a worker had to be fired for leaning off a 140-foot ledge without a safety rope, he has friends who weren’t so lucky.

“I know someone who had his leg shattered; he got backed over by a front loader,” Lorenz said. “I’ve seen too many dangerous things happen. So when you see something, you have to calmly stop it right away.”

Despite the potential hazards, construction allowed Lorenz to make new things that would be important to a community.

“You start with an empty area, or you go inside a building and take it apart, and you put it back together,” Lorenz said. “When you’re done, if you’re doing it right, you’re turning over something nice for someone to use.”

But this isn’t Lorenz’s first time working on ELHS. In the early 2000s, he worked on the project that demolished much of the original school, adding the current performing arts center, pool and gymnasiums.

“It’s nice to be back here and see all the work you did,” Lorenz said. “I didn’t think it would be, but it is. The district has taken great care of this building. It looks almost exactly like it did when I walked out of it 20 years ago.”

To many, construction might not seem like the most exciting job, but it’s one that leaves a lasting impact. Every building is the result of years of planning and coordination. Each wall and hallway has been shaped by people who take pride in creating something meant to serve others for generations.

“It takes a toll mentally and physically, but it’s a great career,” Hawthorne said. “I’ve been doing it for 30 years, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”