The Kueker Award recognizes an Educator or Advocate who has passion for and dedication to Construction Education. Nominations are open through May 15.

There are times I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – without the murderous tendencies, of course. As many of us remember from high school English class, they were two different personalities in one physical body. So how does this relate to help? Jekyll is well-intentioned, mannered, and conciliatory while Hyde skews toward brute force. I find myself in this dilemma of sometimes being Jekyll and sometimes Hyde when it comes to offering, asking for, and giving help.

If we have learned nothing from the last two years of managing, surviving, or hopefully thriving through the pandemic it is that we can’t do it all on our own and we all could use some help. My daughter often accuses me of offering one type of help. It sounds something like “here, let me fix it for you” which is okay – sometimes. After the third time the car battery died because a light was left on or the door not closed properly, it was clear she had not learned how to use jumper cables to charge the battery. I had been doing it for her but not “helping” her acquire an important skill.