Swapping desks for dozers in WHS–McGarvin-Moberly collaboration

WORLAND — A school bus pulls into the yard at McGarvin-Moberly Construction Co. on a chilly overcast Friday. The doors open and about 20 Worland High School seniors emerge.

Their enthusiasm is apparent. It’s clear that if asked to pick between a lecture or a hands-on activity, the boys would choose the latter — especially when presented with an opportunity like this.

The students are there for the heavy equipment operator class, part of the commercial driver’s license course at Worland High. They make a beeline for the handful of McGarvin-Moberly employees waiting for them behind the shop. After a brief overview of what’s in store, they divide into groups.

Today’s activities involve operating both ends of a backhoe, driving a self-propelled broom, exploring a John Deere 1050K bulldozer, a Caterpillar 980 Front-end loader and a Caterpillar road grader.

As a student learns how to use the backhoe end of a Caterpillar 420E, the mechanism’s movements start out jerky. The backhoe lurches and the arm tentatively reaches out. It overextends, missing the target (a pile of coal) by a few feet. The bucket paws at the air. The arm retreats, lowers, and extends once more. This time it connects with the mound and gathers up a scoop of coal.

McGarvin-Moberly President Bryan Barthelmess said he and Josh Keller, automotive instructor at Worland High, came up with the idea for the collaboration together. 

“The only one who doesn’t think this is a good idea is our insurance company,” Barthelmess joked.

Keller said once the legalities were ironed out, the students started to come out and work the machines, weather permitting. 

The experience is part of the ‘green block,’ an enrichment period where students who are in good academic standing get a chance to immerse themselves in skills related to the course. Keller said, “Some kids didn’t know they were interested in heavy machinery until they were given this opportunity.”

“The goal with all of this is to be a place for the kids to get hands-on experience and also allow them a taste of what we do as a company,” Barthelmess said. “The skills that these kids are learning in the heavy equipment and CDL class are becoming more and more valuable by the day.” 

Barthelmess added that aside from the kids who grew up on a farm, many students would never get the chance to do something like this.

The collaboration between Worland High School and McGarvin-Moberly started last year. Barthelmess said that as a result, he has hired numerous students post-graduation. 

One of his favorite things to do when he visits the high school is to ask the students to raise their hands if they had a summer job. He has them hold their hand up if they made more than $10 an hour. He then asks that they keep their hand raised if they made over $15 an hour. 

“And then I tell them what our starting wage is and watch their jaws drop,” he said. “It’s pretty fun to see.”

Both Keller and Barthelmess see a huge opportunity in the workforce for students who forego college in favor of becoming proficient in a trade. 

“The skills that these kids are learning in the heavy equipment and CDL class are becoming more and more valuable by the day,” Barthelmess said. “We are so thankful to be a part of the class and also very fortunate to employ multiple recent graduates of Worland High.”

“I appreciate the community supporting different ideas for the high school —  like McGarvin, letting the kids come out and run some machines,” Keller said. “It’s given them a huge opportunity.”

This story was published on Nov. 13, 2025.