Kacey Miller

Cars drive past the new school sign as it lights up the night air surrounding it. The sign-lighting ceremony took place Dec. 20 at 5:45 p.m. and was open to the public. “It was definitely a relief though to know that the project was finally done after all the hard work we put in,” senior Mason Kasel said. “I think the sign is an important reminder of how truly unique our school is. There are also wonderful programs, such as the welding program, where students can learn important skills and at the same time channel their creativity.”

It wasn’t even 6 p.m. yet and the sun had already sunk below the horizon. It was dark outside, but he could still make out the moving silhouettes in the group of people gathered in front of him. He is led over to a ribbon and handed scissors. Facing the assembly, he readies to make his snip. As soon as the severed ribbon halves fall to the ground, his face is lit up in a white glow, further revealing the applauding crowd.

After designing and building the new school sign, Agriculture Mechanics, or Ag Mech students celebrated their product at a sign-lighting ceremony on Dec. 20. The stainless steel sign has LED lights that can be seen by drivers on Cypress Creek Rd. in the evenings and nights. Senior Mason Kasel, who has taken welding classes for three years, was one of the students who helped build the sign and cut the ribbon at the sign-lighting.

“The sign lighting was very casual, which was nice,” Kasel said. “It was funny though because I wasn’t planning on being there originally due to having previous plans. But they got canceled, so I showed up to help with setup. Then somehow I ended up being the one to cut the ribbon, as well.”

In total, the sign took a year and a half to finish, but the work was shared between several students. More than 10 student welders worked on the sign under the supervision of Ag Mech teacher Myles Russell. Thomas Chavez, Connor Ross, Kasel, seniors Matthew Mueller, Joaquin Reyes and Anthony Munoz are some of the students that worked on the sign.

“[Principal] Sloan came to me at the beginning of last school year, asking if we could build a new school sign,” Russell said. “We had [now graduated] students do most of the construction on it. They powder-coated it last school year, and then ran out of time to finish. This year, Mason and [other welding students] worked on it to get stainless steel down, holes drilled and lights wired.”

Last school year, Kasel was not able to do much welding on the sign because of the projects he had for the welding showcases he was working toward.

“As far as my involvement last year, I only helped with some of the welding because I was focusing on [my own welding],” Kasel said. “But, the main people working on the sign last year graduated, so someone needed to step up and finish the project. I stepped in with another student, and we finished welding and making the frames, made the stainless backings and aligned everything through the stainless steel.”

The Ag Mech students used online programs to design the sign and cut out pieces for it on a CNC plasma cutter, and did the rest of the building by hand.

“We took the pieces cut by the plasma cutter and welded edges on them to give them depth,” Kasel said. “We made a frame to secure the pieces together, and this was done with pieces of a one-inch steel flat strap. But, no one wants to see the ugly framing, so pieces of stainless steel were cut out in the shape of the individual signs.”

According to Kasel, the stainless steel that the sign is made of works as a brightening reflector of the LED strips that run under the sign’s letters, which spell out “Cedar Park High School.” Bolts were added to the backs of pieces to help attach pieces together.

“Mounting everything together was a tough process,” Kasel said. “We had to align everything to the best of our ability on top of the stainless steel and mark out the holes for the bolts underneath each individual piece. But, nevertheless we got it done.”

Welding students work individually or in groups to create products that they can take to stock shows to compete against other welding projects. Kasel won Grand Champion with his belt grinder last week at the Ag. Mechanics Greater Leander FFA Project Show.

“I am making a 2”x72” belt grinder, which is a super powerful belt sander used mainly for making knives,” Kasel said. “I just finished my first show, so now I am working on improving my project for the next shows I will attend, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.”

Around 30 students, teachers and community members attended the sign-lighting., 

“It was definitely a relief though to know that the project was finally done after all the hard work we put in,” Kasel said. “I think the sign is an important reminder of how truly unique our school is. We have teachers who provide opportunities for students to not only succeed but also reach a potential that sets them apart from others. There are also wonderful programs, such as the welding program, where students can learn important skills and at the same time channel their creativity.”