Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In a country facing a shortage of skilled trades people, the Northern Tool and Equipment Tools for the Trades™ program and Monster Jam® teamed up to make a difference by giving a team of high school shop class students an unprecedented opportunity.
The idea? Use the awe-inspiring Monster Jam trucks to inspire a new generation of high school students to consider a career in the trades through the Tools for the Trades™ Monster Jam® Mini Build featuring the students of the Bryan Texas High School shop class, instructor Chris Lehde, and Monster Jam mentors Colt Stephens, Armando Castro, Matt DelSanter, and Bill Easterly.
The challenge? Build a mini Monster Jam truck out of a 740cc EFI NorthStar engine, some raw steel, and your own two hands. They built their plan, then they built their truck. The time was short and the pressure was on. They solved problems, learned teamwork, built friendships, and did more than anyone imagined high school students could do.
Their hard work was rewarded with a trip to the Monster Jam event in Austin Texas. They got to go behind the scenes, get their build team shirts, spend time with their mentors and family, see the Monster Jam trucks up close, and then see the Mini Monster Jam truck they built get driven into the arena!
Nobody ever thought high school kids could build something like this, but these kids did. And the skills they built in the process will last a lifetime because when you can work with your hands, you’ll never be out of work.
A special thank-you to our build partners:
@BryanISD
@MonsterJam
@DylanMcCoolVideo
@dewalttv
@IngersollRandAir
@MilwaukeeTool
In a country facing a shortage of skilled trades people, the Northern Tool and Equipment Tools for the Trades™ program and Monster Jam® teamed up to make a difference by giving a team of high school shop class students an unprecedented opportunity.
The idea? Use the awe-inspiring Monster Jam trucks to inspire a new generation of high school students to consider a career in the trades through the Tools for the Trades™ Monster Jam® Mini Build featuring the students of the Bryan Texas High School shop class, instructor Chris Lehde, and Monster Jam mentors Colt Stephens, Armando Castro, Matt DelSanter, and Bill Easterly.
The challenge? Build a mini Monster Jam truck out of a 740cc EFI NorthStar engine, some raw steel, and your own two hands. They built their plan, then they built their truck. The time was short and the pressure was on. They solved problems, learned teamwork, built friendships, and did more than anyone imagined high school students could do.
Their hard work was rewarded with a trip to the Monster Jam event in Austin Texas. They got to go behind the scenes, get their build team shirts, spend time with their mentors and family, see the Monster Jam trucks up close, and then see the Mini Monster Jam truck they built get driven into the arena!
Nobody ever thought high school kids could build something like this, but these kids did. And the skills they built in the process will last a lifetime because when you can work with your hands, you’ll never be out of work.
A special thank-you to our build partners:
@BryanISD
@MonsterJam
@DylanMcCoolVideo
@dewalttv
@IngersollRandAir
@MilwaukeeTool
