Congratulations to Erik Chavarria, who was named a $75,000 winner of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. Chavarria, a construction teacher at CTECH - Career Technical Education Center in Hobbs, NM, won $50,000 for his school’s program and $25,000 for himself. A total of $2 million was awarded on September 29th, 2026 to 25 public high school skilled trades teachers and their programs across the United States. Chavarria is the first teacher from New Mexico to win the prize.
About Prize Winner
Erik Chavarria
Erik Chavarria teaches Construction and Electrical Trades at the Career Technical Education Center of Hobbs (CTECH) in Hobbs, New Mexico. His trades foundation began on weekend projects with his stepfather, an electrician, inspiring Chavarria to score exceptionally high on the mechanical and electrical portions of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. He served nearly seven years in the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Armament Specialist working on B-1 Bombers and F-16 fighter jets, where he developed a passion for instruction while training newly recruited airmen. Following his military service, Chavarria returned home, earned his New Mexico electrical license, and transitioned into the classroom to help bridge the skilled labor gap. Now holding a Level 2 Teaching License, he brings military discipline and hands-on industry expertise to local youth.
"Taking pride in your work goes a very long way,” Chavarria said. “When students see a family walk into their new home and hear them talk about how beautiful it is, it really hits them that people actually do appreciate good workmanship."
Chavarria instills high standards of workmanship through rigorous, real-world electrical projects and industry-standard training. Beginning with desk-based circuit trainers and progressing to full-scale 8'x8' framed wall simulations, his students master National Electrical Code standards, conduit bending, and complete service installations. Through a work-based learning partnership with Habitat for Humanity, students build homes from the slab to final electrical punchout, learning firsthand how precision and diligence impact real families. Under Chavarria's leadership, CTECH operates as an accredited NCCER Training Program and offers NC3 industry credentials, preparing students for immediate entry into the workforce.
In honoring Chavarria with the prize, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools cited the program’s strong partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and local contractors, which give students hands-on jobsite experience and pathways to employment, as well as its record of awarding more than 2,400 NCCER certifications and 164 NC3 certifications. The organization also highlighted the program’s uninterrupted run of state SkillsUSA gold medals in electrical construction wiring and a capstone project in which students design code-compliant electrical plans for Habitat for Humanity homes, then bring those plans to life on residential job sites.
About the
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence
The prize recognizes excellent high school skilled trades teachers, a group of educators who are frequently overlooked and underappreciated. More than $12 million has been awarded to 208 teachers and their programs in the last decade consistent with the mission of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools – to increase understanding, support and investment in skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools.
About
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a program of The Smidt Foundation, established by Harbor Freight Tools owner and founder Eric Smidt, to advance excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. With a deep respect for the dignity of these fields and for the intelligence and creativity of people who work with their hands, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools aims to drive a greater understanding of and investment in skilled trades education, believing that access to quality skilled trades education gives high school students pathways to graduation, opportunity, good jobs and a workforce our country needs. Harbor Freight Tools is a major supporter of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program. For more information, visit: HFTforschools.org
HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS, THE SMIDT FOUNDATION and HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS PRIZE FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE are registered trademarks owned or licensed by The Smidt Foundation.