Sporting a tool belt, safety glasses, measuring tape and a hammer, Megan Liddell may get strange looks from her classmates. But it all feels perfectly natural to her.

After sweating and sawing her way to eighth in the nation in the Skills USA carpentry competition in Kansas City, Mo., in June, being a woman in a predominantly man-filled classroom is routine.

&#8220To me, it doesn’t seem like a big deal – I’m just taking carpentry,” she said.

The 17-year-old Vicksburg High School soon-to-be senior will begin her second year of carpentry at the Vicksburg campus of Hinds Community College’s Vo-Tech building this fall. She is also in the school’s co-op program, where she works about 20 hours a week at a local insurance agency. She will also add college courses to her regular senior schedule this fall.

She can read blueprints, build cabinets, work in a professional office setting – all while maintaining a grade point average of 3.95.

&#8220This young lady is an honor student who’s going to go far – and she’s going to know how to build a house,” said Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent James Price.

Megan, the daughter of Ricky and Regena Liddell, said she would like to apply her hands-on skills to a degree in engineering, which she hopes to pursue at Mississippi State University.

Most of the work she’s done has been building cabinets, shed frames and shelves, but her crowning glory was for her presentation of a chapter display, a turning carousel with pictures and lights that represents the Skills USA chapter.

Skills USA is the largest student organization in the country, with 285,000 members nationwide. Hinds’ Vicksburg campus has about 40 members.

Megan and a group of people worked on the display for four months before competing at the state competition at Hinds’ Raymond campus in April. Megan walked away with a first-place award for her presentation and landed her a ranking as eighth of 31 in the nation.

&#8220Everybody knows Megan. She does a great job at everything she does,” said co-op instructor Tommy Lee, who also is the adviser for the local Skills USA. &#8220There’s no doubt in my mind that that girl will be anything she wants to be.”

What Megan likes about working with wood – besides the smell of fresh sawdust – is turning nothing into something.

&#8220I like how it goes from a pile of wood to something people can use,” she said.

Creating is something for which Megan attributes her family, who have long been involved in construction.

&#8220I’ve watched it for a long time,” she said. &#8220I like watching construction as much as I like doing it.”

Whatever she’s doing, she’s confident and gives her best.

&#8220There’s no point in doing it if you can’t do it right,” she said.

And, her instructors agree that that’s what sets Megan apart.

&#8220Everybody loves Megan because she excels at whatever she does,” Lee said.