UNVEILED — Brooke High School students behind the 600-pound steel sculpture of the school’s Bruin mascot unveiled it on Wednesday evening. The bear was made with steel designed to gradually form a dark brown patina with exposure to the elements. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — After working for two and a half months on a special project, students in Brooke High School’s career technical department got to share the results of their hard work with the public.

And it’s an endeavor that will be appreciated for many years to come as everyone who enters the school’s wellness center will pass the 600-pound steel sculpture of the Bruin mascot.

Kelly Lumbatis, an art instructor at the school, told the many on hand for its unveiling on Wednesday evening that she and Larry Jones, the school’s welding instructor, worked together to create an ornamental welding class.

Lumbatis said after the students had created rings from spoons, flowers from cans and other smaller projects as individuals, she suggested a larger one that would involve many students.

She and Jones noted that ultimately more than a dozen students brought the Bruin together from more than 90 pieces.

Jones said the pieces were cut from eight large sheets of steel, each weighing about 100 pounds, by students in Tom Bane’s engineering class using a plasma cutter.

He said his students used hammers and other tools to bend the pieces into the shapes needed to form the bear’s snout, claws and other features.

Students in Nick Petrovich’s electrical class installed the wiring and outlets needed to light the bear at night, while the engineering students again were recruited to create a large plaque bearing the names of all of the students involved.

They are Jaida Johnson, Makayla Shreve, Alex Dunn, Clay Wood, Owen Haught, Deegan Halstead, Caleb Billick, Josh Blair, Vance Moffo, Michael Williams, Ryan Kettler, Hunter Darling, Aiden Lathem, Caleb Barkhurst, Cole Bolen, Donovan Carpenter, Parker Gagich, Pearson Stewart, Colton Yensen, Garrett Moore and Dante Tulenko.

Jones said the steel used for the sculpture is of the Corten variety, the surface of which turns a dark brown as it’s exposed to the elements.

While the process is the result of natural weathering, the steel is quite durable and has been used in bridges, he noted.

Jones said the West Virginia Division of Highways also had a hand in the project, donating large slates of rock on which the bear stands more than 5 feet high.

He said when Lumbatis pitched the project to him, he thought, “This would be a good way to show people what our career technical students can do.”

Jones said students in Brooke’s many career technical programs learn skills with which they may secure good-paying jobs, often soon after graduating.

Bane said he was very impressed with the final result.

“It just blows your mind, what they can do,” he said, adding, “These kids have a very bright future.”