Giving Back: A Recap of Liguori Academy's Visit to Laurel Field Community

At Kay Builders, we care about giving back to the communities we serve. As a third-generation homebuilder where a love of construction has been passed down from parents to children (including our current owner and President Rick Koze), we’re very aware of the importance of encouraging young people to pursue a career in the skilled trades.

So this Spring, after Rick Koze and Kay Builders made a donation to support Liguori Academy, we invited a group of their high school students who were interested in construction to tour our Laurel Field Townhome Community that’s currently under construction in Upper Macungie.

Liguori Academy is located in the Kensington section of North Philadelphia. We wanted to show these students the real-world opportunities that are open to them in the local construction industry.

Liguori Academy Students Come to Laurel Field

As the students walked into our Laurel Field community, they were welcomed and given onsite safety gear including hard hats, protective eyewear, and yellow safety vests so they could safely tour the homes under construction.

We started by showing the students a “quick delivery” home that was complete and move-in ready, so they could see the finished product. Then we toured other homes that were in various phases of construction so students could learn specifically about:

• Plumbing including rough and final plumbing and how to properly layout a home for the proper flow of water.
• HVAC design and installation including a basic primer on how these systems work.
• Painting the home including the multiple stages of the painting process.
• Trim and final carpentry to finish the home.
• Final touches to make sure all homes are ready for customer delivery.
• The Kay Difference including how the entire Kay Builders team works together to make sure the community is successful and meets the needs of their home buyers.

After seeing all the quality craftsmanship that goes into Kay Builders’ homes, the students realized the skills they are learning have valuable real-world applications. For more pictures of the tour, check out our Facebook post!

Other students who want to pursue interior design expressed an interest in touring Kay Builders’ Design Studio, where buyers can customize their homes to truly make them truly one-of-a-kind.

“Our students got to see all the skills, jobs, and teamwork that goes into building a housing development. They saw every aspect including all the skilled trades, plus the marketing, and management that help make the community successful.” - Samantha DiGeorge, Director of Advancement, Liguori Academy

More About Liguori Academy

Liguori Academy serves students in 9th to 12th grades from 27 different zip codes across the Philadelphia area. They provide a quality, affordable private education to students who otherwise would not have a choice in where they attend school.

Since opening in 2016, they have grown from 30 to over 260 students. Virtually all the students at Liguori Academy receive needs-based financial assistance and scholarships. “Liguori Academy would not be possible without the support of businesses like Kay Builders and the generous donations from people like Kay Builders’ President Rick Koze,” said Samantha DiGeorge.

Students at Liguori are encouraged to find their best route to graduation—whether that’s preparation for college or a career in a skilled trade. In 10th grade, students select their Career Cohort from Construction, Technology, The Arts, and soon, Healthcare. Students in the construction cohort graduate with a certification in residential construction. They can also participate in a trade school partnership to take extra trade courses after school.

“Our programs are set up so that whatever the students dream, we can help them achieve it - whether that’s college or a successful career in the trades or one of our other career cohorts. We help them develop a plan and then show them the way to move forward to make that dream come true.” - Samantha DiGeorge

Learn more about how you can support Liguori Academy including participating in the Pennsylvania Educational Income Tax Credit which goes directly to support student tuition.

Kay Builders Believes Community Comes First

At Kay Builders, we strive to do so much more than build top-quality homes throughout the Lehigh Valley and Montgomery County—we want to build communities of people who care and support one another. We also want to encourage young people to learn skilled trades and find rewarding careers in the construction industry.

So we’re honored that we could welcome these exceptional students from Liguori Academy to our Laurel Field Community. We look forward to building on our relationship with Liguori to inspire more students in the future.

For more information about Kay Builders’ Communities in the area, feel free to contact us today at (484) 353-6100 or fill out our online form.