DECATUR - The technical academy provides classes in many vocations and disciplines for high school juniors and seniors.

But 20 sophomores and freshmen did not want to wait to experience what the academy has to offer. They took advantage of a preview event held Saturday morning at the Decatur Area Technical Academy.

Ryan Bodine, a sophomore at Mount Zion High School, hopes one day to earn a college degree in graphics or Web design, so he got a head start Saturday at the school's computer lab.

"They are teaching me a lot of new stuff," Bodine said during a break from a two-hour programming class. "This is my first actual Web design experience. I've wanted to do Web design for three years."

Bodine, who learned about Web design code, image programming and how to store information in folders, said he will probably attend the academy during his junior year.

Tasha Ziemer, the academy's marketing and recruiting coordinator, said the Web programming class will be offered for the first time during the next school year.

Students accepted into the academy attend classes a half day, five days a week, for one or two school years, Ziemer said. The academy's numerous programs include early child education, health care, criminal justice, building trades and auto repair. The students are mostly from Macon County but include schools from as far away as Cerro Gordo and Tuscola.

"Students gain experience to go to work after high school or gain college credit (at Richland Community College) while they're still in high school," Ziemer said.

While attending the academy, some students land paid internships at local businesses, including Caterpillar Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Co.

"Caterpillar offers 12 scholarships to Richland each year," Ziemer said. "Students here in the industrial manufacturing program get first shot at those scholarships."

Bobby Stenger, a sophomore at Argenta-Oreana High School, was working in the industrial manufacturing lab Saturday, where students learned how to operate a milling machine. Bobby said he is hoping to get into the academy's computer repair program next year but would enroll in the manufacturing class as a second choice.

The idea of gaining hands-on experience is appealing to Stenger, who tinkers with computers at home.

"I've heard you take apart a hard drive the first day," Stenger said.

Eric Rodmaker, a Tuscola machinist, brought his son to the academy to check out the manufacturing lab. He credited the academy with training him for a lucrative career, during which he worked many years as a machinist at the University of Illinois, fabricating scientific lab equipment. He said otherwise he might have spent his life working at manual labor jobs because he was not interested in learning from books.

"I took machine shop here in '76-'77," Rodmaker said. "I went right to work and always had good jobs. This gives you the experience to get a good job right out of school."

Rodmaker noticed that a lot more is offered than when he attended school, including instruction in hydraulics, maintenance and electricity.

"The world has changed," he said. "They offer more, and you need more now."

Michelle Graven, Sarah Hoyt and Erica Cearlock, all Warrensburg-Latham students, left the culinary arts kitchen carrying their own freshly made creations, sausage pinwheels and blueberry muffins.

Hoyt, a junior, said she does not know if she will be able to fit the academy into her schedule, because she needs to focus on science classes to stay on track to become a doctor. But she enjoyed spending the morning learning new recipes.

"I really love to cook, so I thought I'd give it a try," Hoyt said. "I thought it was fun."

Cearlock, a freshman, is looking forward to spending her junior and senior years at the tech academy to prepare to open her own bakery, which will produce wedding cakes and pastries. The preview event strengthened her resolve to take advantage of the opportunity.

"It's real nice here," she said. "The teacher was real nice. I had already planned on coming here."

hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985