Bryan ISD Mini Monster Truck build team passes on inspiration from instructor to the next generation

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BUDA, Texas (KBTX) - Bryan ISD CTE students and mentor get ready to showcase their mini monster truck at Monster Jam and hope to inspire the next generation.

A year’s worth of work hits the dirt at Monster Jam in Austin on June 7 and 8. A team of 14 CTE (Career and Technical Education) students at Bryan ISD (Independent School District) built a 1/3 scale monster truck from the ground up for the Tools for the Trades Monster Jam Mini Build challenge .

Students were given an engine, tools, and professional monster truck driver guidance to build their own monster truck, showcased at the 2025 Monster Jam . The build is part of a program put on by Northern Tools and Equipment and Monster Jam, working to encourage kids interested in learning about a technical skills-based career.

After a year of early mornings, after-school workshops, and a lot of hands-on learning, Bryan ISD students get to show off their skills on a monster-sized stage. They said it wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of their CTE instructor, Chris Lehde.

“Mr. Lehde, he taught us almost everything, you know,” shared Nate Surley, CTE senior at BISD. “He’s taught us fabrication, welding, everything like that.”

Lehde said that although the big showcase is exciting, being a mentor and teacher to the students is what made all of the hard work worth it. He hopes the students bring the skills they learned while building the truck into their careers in the future, from frame building to teamwork.

“I get to be part of them and teach them everything that I’ve learned over the almost 20 years in the industry, and it’s a sense of accomplishment seeing them, what they can, what they’re learning, you know, and aspiring to do in their career path,” explained Lehde.

For Noah Heninger, junior CTE student at Bryan ISD, who’s worked all year on the mini truck, this weekend is about more than just tires and engines; it’s about passing that inspiration onto the next generation.

“It’s awesome to have kids look up to us, kind of like we look up to the Monster Jam mentors today,” reminisced Heninger. “When we were little and you see these guys going and jumping these big trucks, you know, it’s no different now, except we’ve grown up and now there’s different kids that look up to us.”

The biggest reward for Lehde is the Monster Truck weekend event, where he expects the students’ work to meet a roaring crowd.

“When they see the project, the end product of this truck, and seeing the kids’ faces when they see how people are so excited that they, you know, high school students built this moving 1/3 scale Mini monster truck,” Lehde answered, on what he’s most excited to see.

The Bryan High School mini monster truck rolled out with the full-sized rigs at Monster Jam in Austin, and a crowd of 15 thousand saw the hard-earned handiwork of 14 students from Bryan.