HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County Public Schools has announced thousands of dollars in donations to go to a medical education floor built by students at a career education center. On Monday, April 7, Henrico County Public Schools celebrated a partnership with Kokosing construction. The s chool district announced $25,000 dollars in donations from the business. With this money, technical students interested in carpentry and similar trades will help construct Henrico's Hermitage High School ACE Center's second floor. 8News visited the site Monday afternoon and received a tour from school leaders. Of course, the construction zone doesn't look like much -- yet. However, soon Hermitage ACE Center's contracting students will totally transform the level. Monday was all about growth and the space will be all about career advancement and preparation. 8News spoke with Vincent Cummins, a licensed pharmacy technician trainee, but he doesn't yet work at a pharmacy. "I've never felt more prepared for my future," Cummins said. "I think it's priceless for a lot of students to really get the hands-on experience that they need." The licensed pre-professional is still a junior at the Henrico Advanced Career Education Center. The first floor of this anything-but-ordinary learning environment came to life last year. It's a place where students cultivate their interests whether baking and designing or auto repair work and cyber-security research. They prepare for the real world outside of just books and binders. "As an employer, if I don't have students, I still have to have workers," said Henrico County Public Schools Workforce and Career Development Director Mac Beaton. "And if I can't have workers, I can't get the job done. So this benefits the community. It benefits the employers. It benefits our students. So it truly is a win-win." This is not a standard construction project. Initial developers for the two-story building intentionally left the second floor unfinished, so it could be used to give students interested in building-based paths first-hand construction experience. Carpentry and contracting students will put their own skills to the test -- helping to turn the floor into a learning space for their healthcare-oriented counterparts. The students are the builders and the beneficiaries. The project turns 29,000 square feet into labs and instructional space for those interested in the medical profession. "There was a study out that in 2030, there's going to be 10.8 billion medical job openings worldwide," Beaton said. "So when you think about that, if we're not exposing young people to these opportunities, when you go to the doctor or when you go to the hospital, there's not going to be anybody there to take care of you. So this is opening that opportunity to get these students into careers sooner, which we need." On the contracting side of things, an alumna from the program took to the podium Monday afternoon. Sky Allen always knew she didn't want to work in a traditional office or sit behind a computer, and she explained how she has seen the impact of taking a hands-on approach to education. "This gave me an opportunity that I wouldn't have had otherwise," Allen said. "I learned to read blueprints properly. I learned from multiple students, multiple inspectors about building codes... who knows where I would be without the ACE center." Phase one of construction will wrap up this December. The second phase will roll out in January 2026 and is expected to be completed in September of that year. Leaders anticipate the floor to be ready for learning by 2027. ...read more read less