CHAMPAIGN — U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski got some hands-on experience with the Housing Authority of Champaign County’s YouthBuild program Monday, taking a screwdriver to a piece of drywall on the students’ mock wall.

The Springfield Democrat laughed about being trusted with power tools but said it gave her an appreciation for what the program does.

“You realize that these are really technical skills. They have great instructors in there that will hold their hands, talk them through everything step by step, so that eventually they won’t need that training,” Budzinski said.

She stopped by the housing authority Monday for a quick introduction to the program, which helps students ages 16-24 get high school diplomas as well as certifications in everything from forklift operation to CPR.

Housing authority Executive Director Lily Walton gave her the rundown on the program’s goals and funding, but most of the visit was reserved for Budzinski to chat with the students. They talked about how they got into YouthBuild, what they liked about it and what they were learning, then asked Budzinski about what it’s like being in Congress; she said as a freshman member, she’s learning a lot right now.

“Having the opportunity to visit with these students and see the direct impact and hear from them of what’s happening and how transformational this program is for them, giving young people a second chance, giving them job skills that they can then transfer into an immediate good job, is just inspiring,” Budzinski said.

Finally, the students showed off some of their skills on the mock wall in their workshop, working together to get drywall installed in no time.

On top of general and vocational education, YouthBuild Executive Director Shevon Myrick said each cohort of students is also involved in volunteer efforts like gathering donations for Daily Bread Soup Kitchen or working with Habitat for Humanity to do something with all the construction skills they’ve been learning.

Each cohort is only in YouthBuild for six months as the program is designed to fast-track young people into careers and post-secondary education if they didn’t have success in traditional school settings. The students spend about half of each day in online, self-paced high school classes, then the rest of the day learning trade skills.

Walton said it is rewarding to see each group complete the program because it combines her personal love of working with young people with the housing authority’s goals.

“YouthBuild is really pushing young people toward self-sufficiency and developing affordable housing, and the housing authority’s mission is to provide affordable housing,” Walton said. “It’s just like the perfect combination of the two worlds.”

She said she was impressed with Budzinski and has been happy to have multiple local politicians stop in and express support for the program in the past.

It’s a busy time for YouthBuild since it just launched an Urbana site and is hoping to hire more employees and expand the program for bigger cohorts.

This current group graduates Jan. 13, after which a whole new set of students will get started.