RATHDRUM — The auger drill roared as Anikka Hunter sat in the driver's seat of the excavator Thursday morning, boring into the ground with help from newly retired Bay Shore Systems product support lead Dave Wright.

The drill soon broke through an unseen obstacle buried deep within the ground and Anikka walked away with a large piece of granite as a souvenir from her Hard Hats, Hammers, Healthcare and Hot Dogs experience.

"I don't have a lot of machinery experience, so he was very thorough and clear about what to do and how to run the machine," the Kootenai High School junior said, chunk of rock in hand. "Everyone's having a fun day."

Although Anikka isn't keen on going into a career in heavy machinery, she said she was grateful to try it out.

"It's nice to have these opportunities as a high schooler," she said.

This was the 17th year for Hard Hats, Hammers, Healthcare and Hot Dogs — referred to as H4 — and also the biggest year for student participation. More than 420 students and 30 area companies converged at Kootenai Technical Education Campus to provide vocational exploration opportunities for high schoolers from across the Idaho Panhandle.

The students began the day with tours and hands-on welding, autobody collision repair and 3D printing experiences at North Idaho College's Parker Technical Education Center, then spent time engaging with industry pros and equipment at KTEC.

Lake City High freshmen Emma Altizer, Chloe Anderson and Emily Darrar took a short break on the grass between stations.

Emma, who said she wants to work in the automotive industry, said she thought the H4 event was really cool.

"I think it's really good for KTEC," she said. "They're pushing for the newer kids to get into their programs."

Chloe, the daughter of a firefighter, is looking forward to a career in law enforcement.

"The recruitment for the Army is really cool because it has benefits that will hopefully develop me for my police work," she said. "I just want to get a foot up on being a police officer. I've been around police and fire guys all my life, plus I feel like Batman riding in my car with my gun and pepper spray."

Emily is also interested in automotive work because her sister worked as a mechanic.

"She loved it and she taught me really cool stuff," she said.

"You learn about all the things that these guys do," Lake City freshman Ryder Nicholson said. "You learn how things work, like the hydropress that generates electricity."

Avista lineman Rich Dudley has been in his line of work since 2009. He operated a bucket truck and showed students all the tools that linemen keep handy in the baskets that carry them to the tops of trees and power poles.

"I wish I would have seen stuff like this when I was a kid," he said. "I kind of went in blind; it would have been much appreciated if I could have done something like this."

He shared that he enjoys the adventure and variety that accompanies his work.

"It's hard for me to have a job where you do the same thing every day," he said, adding that Wednesday's work took him on a boat on Spirit Lake then later to places across North Idaho to respond to wind damage.

"There was something different at every spot," he said.

Event co-chairs Kristin Parker and Tatianna Gallego said the whole purpose of H4 is to expose students to industry opportunities.

"Not every child can come to KTEC," Parker said. "This is a chance for them to experience something outside of the norm of their regular school day."

Gallego said now is a unique time that is seeing workers aging out of industry jobs before they can be replaced.

"We are working so hard to change the narrative that construction is a dead-end job, a last resort or for kids who aren't smart enough to do the academic side," she said. "It's not true. These are tactile, creative, very intelligent kids, they just don't want to sit in a book all day. This is showing them their skills, their knowledge, their abilities are so widely needed and letting them know they have options."

    Kellogg High School sophomore Marlee Williams jumps out of a U.S. Army high mobility engineer excavator Thursday morning during the Hard Hats, Hammers, Healthcare and Hot Dogs event at Kootenai Technical Education Campus in Rathdrum.