Lukus Van Zanten spends time building boats at Staples.Contributed PhotoAt Staples High School, students with advanced knowledge of a subject often help those who are just learning. Stapleites often gather in the library, cafeteria or classroom to tutor each other in subjects like physics, writing, or Spanish.
So while it was not uncommon for Lukas Van Zanten to share his woodworking talents in the boat-building course last year, one aspect was unusual: Lukas was only a freshman. His classmates were juniors and seniors.
They were happy for his help. From the boat-building room to the auditorium, where he builds sets for Staples Players productions, no one knows more about construction than Lukas Van Zanten.
“It comes easily to me,” the King’s Highway Elementary and Bedford Middle School graduate said modestly. “I like taking a bunch of wood, and creating something. It’s relaxing and satisfying. Shaping something into a piece of art gives me a good feeling.”
His first project, built during a summer school course at Staples, was a 200-pound butcher board table. He sold it for $250 – and at just 10 years old, he was by far the youngest student in the class.
There are no woodworking courses in middle school, so Lukas joined the private Woodworkers Club in Norwalk. He worked there for hours, learning about tools and techniques while constructing shelving units, cutting boards and baseball bats.
He also designed and built a birdhouse, for Project Return’s annual fundraising auction. He found a tree stump he liked and created the birdhouse surrounded by moss and bittersweet. His creation sold for $500 that went to the teenage girls’ home.
Being a good woodworker, Lukas said, demands “patience, the ability to listen and to learn, common sense, and not getting frustrated.” It also requires tools. He buys most of his equipment himself, and he does not stint. “I like name brand stuff,” he said. “I’ll use it for years.”
At Staples last year, Lukas dove into instructor Bill Leach’s woodworking class. He also joined the stage crew, building sets for Players’ productions of “Cabaret” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the summer show “Aida.” It was his first foray into heavy construction, and he liked it.
This year, he worked on the fall show, “Children of Eden.” With a slanted turntable and circular ramp, it was the most challenging set so far. Lukas likes working with stage designer Joe Ziegahn. “He’s tough, but we have a lot of the same ideas,” Lukas said. “He gives me a lot of independence.”
Though the hours are demanding – he works until 5 or 6 p.m. every day, sometimes as late as 9:30—Lukas enjoys the result: sitting in the audience, watching actors cross the stage with ease and hearing audiences comment on the sets.
Lukas’s interest in building is taking him in new directions. Recently, he joined Westport town official Stephen Smith on building inspections. Lukas learned about structural engineering, everything from foundation rules to light covers.
He is also deeply involved with the Westport Fire Department. Twice a week in the summer, once a week during school, he helps with firehouse chores, such as checking apparatus and air packs, and washing, waxing and working on vehicles.
He also goes out on calls, where he learns to handle emergency situations. Last month, on Open House Day, he helped man a booth, and showed children how to put out fires.
One of the highlights of last summer was taking a Fire Academy course near Bradley Airport. He studied firefighting techniques, including search-and-rescue techniques, and the use of ladders. He even rode on the airport crash truck.
Lukas’s community efforts includes Builders Beyond Borders, volunteering for two summers at the YMCA children’s Half-a-day summer program, the Penguin Plunge fundraiser, and refereeing for the Westport Soccer Association. He also works at Ace Hardware, and helps assemble, maintain and oversee the ice rink at Longshore Club Park.
“I just like helping people,” Lukas said, explaining his varied activities. “It’s a great way to learn about new things.”
How does he have time to do it all? “I don’t know. I just do it,” he said. Is he well-organized? “Sometimes,” he admitted.
He enjoys Staples—particularly the freedom and choices, and the “actual food” in the cafeteria—but he is already looking ahead to beyond graduation, three years from now.
Lukas’s goal is to attend a school like Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, then work in construction management (while serving as a volunteer firefighter on the side). To learn more about construction management, he plans a mid-November tour of the new Staples building with a representative of Turner Construction.
Interestingly, Lukas’s building talents are not genetic. While his father “can paint,” and his maternal grandfather was a plumber, Lukas said he is the handiest member of his family.
The result: He does most of the work around his Gorham Avenue house. “My parents like that!” he laughed.
