Maxx Van Hoomissen’s passion for trades will serve him well in the future

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

As a youngster, Maxx Van Hoomissen would take his toy tools and work on “projects” around the house.

“I’ve always liked working with my hands,” Van Hoomissen said.

As he got older, he started working with real tools.

Now a senior at Hudson’s Bay High School, Van Hoomissen is one of the best in trades skills in all of Washington among high school students.

The best, actually, in plumbing.

Van Hoomissen recently won the SkillsUSA state competition for plumbing, and to make the feat even more impressive, Van Hoomissen started plumbing this school year.

“I’ve been in the building trades program for four years,” he said of the Career and Technical Education offered at Hudson’s Bay. “But I had never done any plumbing. It was carpentry and electrical.”

He also had never competed in SkillsUSA. 

“There were a couple of guys who competed last year and they had fun,” Van Hoomissen said.

His teacher, Erik Gunderson, wanted as many Eagles to try the competition this year. Van Hoomissen said sure, but at first, he was going to be an electrician.

Gunderson noted that there were already several Hudson’s Bay students interested in electrical. What about plumbing?

That conversation led to a state championship, and an upcoming trip to Atlanta to the national competition for Van Hoomissen. 

It also just might have changed his life.

Last week, Van Hoomissen was one of a select few students from Clark County who were invited to the Careers in Construction hiring event. He interviewed with several potential employers, and Van Hoomissen is waiting to hear if has landed a job.

“I’m focused on plumbing,” he said of his career goals now, hoping to become a trainee.

That does not mean he is not interested in other skills in the trades. As noted, he loves working with his hands. But right now, he has a specific goal in mind:

“There is a lot of satisfaction in completing a project,” Van Hoomissen said. “I’m excited for when I can drive around town and say, ‘Oh, I helped install the pipes in that building.’”

Once Gunderson asked Van Hoomissen about the potential of competing as a plumber, Van Hoomissen was all-in, focused. He trained most of the school year in preparation for the competition. He ended up finishing second at regionals to a classmate, Irish Carse. Van Hoomissen said he did fine on the project but not as well on the written test.

Still, he qualified for state, hit the books, then conquered the competition at state.

Competition is a huge part of Van Hoomissen’s life, too. He was a wide receiver and outside linebacker for the Eagles in football season, and he is a track and field athlete as he wraps up his senior year this spring. He made it to state last year in the pole vault and hopes to return to state later this month.

“It was an awesome experience,” he said of being part of the football team that rebounded from a tough 2022 to make the playoffs in the fall of 2023. 

But there was more going on at home. His father, Scott, was diagnosed with throat cancer. Maxx’s mom, Melinda, was a rock, strong for her husband and the family.

“There were a lot of ups and downs,” Maxx said. “Football stayed really consistent.”

The sport gave Maxx a purpose, some consistency during a chaotic time. Maxx said he is proud to announce that the family believes Scott has beat the cancer.

Maxx also appreciated all that his dad did for him during this time.

“He was going through chemo, and he made it to all my football games,” Maxx said.

The son was inspired by his dad.

Now, the son is the one inspiring, taking on a discipline for the first time, then winning a state title in plumbing.

He said sports will always help him in the trades industry.

“It’s about being able to work on a team,” Van Hoomissen said. “In trades, most of the time you’re going to have to work with people. You gotta be able to work with people for a common goal.”

Being in the trades will also allow him to remain competitive. Each job presents its own challenges. Van Hoomissen said a good tradesmen competes with himself, to constantly improve his skills, to figure out a way to complete a quality job.

He also appreciates his four years with the building trades program at Hudson’s Bay. He said Gunderson is a “great instructor” and another teacher, Eric Saueracker, is “probably the smartest guy I’ve ever met.”

Van Hoomissen said he doesn’t know what he would be doing without the trades.

With trades, he has a goal in mind.

“It’s a good strong foundation,” he said of his career goals. “There is always going to be construction.”

And there will always be a need for skilled trades, people who know how to create or repair things with their hands.