How Building Great Futures Academy turned a 10th-grader with an interest in construction into a young leader. One wall, one house, and one family at a time.

August 12, 2026 | By E’Lyric Christopher, Communications and Marketing Coordinator

It's 9 a.m. at a Cleveland build site, and Josh R. already has his iced coffee in hand.

He checks the week's assignment, laces up, and gets to work — the way he has, summer after summer, for three years now. This year, 2026, marks his third summer with Building Great Futures Academy, a Habitat for Humanity program offered in partnership with Youth Opportunities Unlimited. And if you ask him whether coming back was the right call, he keeps it simple.

"It was a great idea, I didn’t even have to think about it." - Josh R.

How it started

Josh was in 10th grade, already drawn to construction, when the director of his after-school program mentioned Building Great Futures. He signed up. Then he came back the next year. And the year after that.

What keeps pulling him in isn't just the paycheck, though earning money matters. It's the mission underneath it.

"You get to earn money and contribute to building someone a home to make sure they have a stable roof over their head."

The combination of real work, real pay, real purpose, is what turns a summer job into something he returns to year after year.

Learning The Craft

I asked Josh what he's actually learned on-site, and you get a tour through the trades.

He started with flooring — a very detail-oriented task, he says he had to be extra careful because the flooring was easy to break and more challenging than it looks. From there came drywall, which he picked up so well during a year-one rehab project that he later was able to use those same skills to patch holes in his own home, by himself. He's done framing and built walls in a house from the ground up, which was a task not only new to Josh, but also his mentor and Construction Site Leader, Paul.

Through all of it, he says, learning from great mentors still means thinking for himself. The guidance is there, but the troubleshooting is his.

"I get to challenge myself, improve, and figure out which parts of carpentry I really thrive in and what parts I can become better at."

SYEP participant Josh and Mentor/Supervisor Paul Kubuski

Not everything Josh has built on those sites is made of wood and drywall.

Five years into his time with Youth Opportunities Unlimited, he says Building Great Futures is where he truly became a team player, where working alongside people turned into working as a team. It's where he learned accountability, too: owning his own actions instead of pointing fingers.

A lot of that growth traces back to one person.

"He is a cool manager, I learn a lot from him, he is always there."

That's how Josh describes Paul, who has been watching Josh grow the whole time.

The Mentor's Lens

Paul is the construction site supervisor and team lead, and his teaching philosophy is refreshingly simple: teach these kids the way he would have wanted to be taught. Give them access to real knowledge and real skills. Talk to them about what comes after high school, not just college, trades, and life skills, too.

He's watched Josh transform across three summers. More responsibility. Sharper communication. The confidence to take the lead on tasks he knows and own them start to finish, done right.

He remembers exactly when it clicked.

"Year two, working on walls — Josh picked up the skill so well I could trust him with the team and step back to focus on other things. He could lead."

When asked “What makes a young person like Josh stand out?” Paul doesn't hesitate: he treats it like a real job, because it is one. Communication. Ownership. Accountability. On-site, Josh has started thinking ahead, guiding the team, showing others how to plan the next step before it arrives.

For Paul, this work is personal. His dad was a teacher in the arts, and Paul finds himself passing along what he watched his father do, often making himself available to his crew well beyond program hours. He never planned on becoming a teacher. Now he's thinking seriously about teaching at a trade school.

"At the start of the year, no one knows each other. Some kids barely talk. By the end, it's one big group."

That, he says, is the quieter lesson underneath the construction: treat people with respect, and don't judge anyone up front.

Why It Matters

For all the skills and camaraderie, Josh keeps circling back to the point of it all.

"It feels good to know I contributed to someone being housed — instead of that family wondering if they'll have stable housing next week."

That's the heart of Building Great Futures. Founded in 1987, Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity has helped hundreds of local families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership across Cuyahoga County. Every wall Josh frames and every floor he lays brings a real family one step closer to a safe place to call home. And in the building, the builders are changed too.

What's Next

Josh isn't slowing down. He's headed to Cuyahoga Community College to study fire science, with his sights set on becoming an Fire Fighter, a future built on the same foundation these summers gave him: hands-on skill, discipline, and the drive to show up for people who need it.

His advice to the next young person eyeing the program?

"Take the most of the opportunity. Learn as much as you possibly can."

He's also seen how competitive it is, some apply and don't get accepted. So if you're in, be all in.

Three years ago, Josh showed up to a build site as a 10th-grader who liked construction. Today, he's a leader, a mentor-in-the-making, and part of the reason a Cleveland family will have a place to call home.