Building the Future: How Salome High School Students Built a House — and We Finished It Right

Building the Future: How Salome High School Students Built a House, and We Finished It Right

Superior Stone & Cabinet  |  Serving Phoenix & Beyond

Some projects stand out not just for the work involved, but for what they represent. When Salome High School reached out to Superior Stone & Cabinet to supply and install countertops for a house being mainly built by their students, we didn't hesitate. This was exactly the kind of project we love to be part of.

Located in Salome, Arizona, a small rural community about 100 miles northwest of Phoenix, Salome High School runs one of the most hands-on Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs you'll find anywhere in the state. Their Construction Technology and Building Trades curriculum puts students to work on a real house, from foundation to finish, giving them practical skills that translate directly into careers in the trades.

The school chose White Orion granite for the countertops. A beautiful, light-toned natural stone with a white base and soft gray veining that works beautifully in both kitchens and bathrooms. We were honored to be their partner for it.

Students Who Don't Just Study Construction: They Do It

Salome High School's CTE program offers Building Trades I & II as part of a broader curriculum that includes Construction Technology and hands-on technical training. The school serves students from a wide rural area (Salome, Aguila, Quartzsite, Wenden, Bouse, and surrounding communities) and has made workforce readiness a core part of its mission.

The student-built house project is the capstone of that mission. Working under the guidance of their instructors and with support from local contractors, students take on every phase of construction themselves. We're talking real trades work: framing, electrical rough-in, plumbing, drywall, flooring, painting, cabinet installation, and more. By the time the project is complete, these students have touched nearly every trade involved in building a home from scratch.

That last one, cabinet installation, is where our partnership picks up. The students set and level the cabinets, getting them perfectly ready for countertop templating. When we arrive to template and then return to install, we're building on a foundation of their work. That matters to us.

The Stone They Chose: White Orion Granite

For a home that students built with their own hands, choosing the right countertop material was important. The school selected White Orion granite, and it's a choice that makes a lot of sense for a first home.

White Orion granite, a clean, light-toned natural stone with subtle gray veining that suits a wide range of design styles.

White Orion's white base with subtle gray tones offers versatility that few other stones can match. It brightens a space, pairs easily with both light and dark cabinet finishes, and brings a sense of polish and permanence that's hard to achieve with other materials. As a natural granite countertop, it's also extremely durable, resistant to heat, scratches, and the everyday demands of a working kitchen.

For a house that represents so much hard work and real-world learning, White Orion is a fitting finish. It's the kind of countertop that will last for decades and look great the whole time, a quality that mirrors the lasting value of the education these students are receiving.

At the time of this article, White Orion granite is priced at $49.99 per square foot, making it an accessible option for homeowners who want the beauty and durability of natural granite. It's one of the reasons it was such a natural fit for this project, and it's a popular choice in our showroom for the same reason.

White Orion granite taking shape in the Salome High School student-built home, a clean, timeless finish on top of student-installed cabinets.

See It for Yourself

We captured a quick look at the countertop installation in progress. Watch how White Orion comes together in this student-built home, and appreciate just how far this project has come.

Watch on YouTube

Why Projects Like This Matter to Us

At Superior Stone & Cabinet, we've been serving Arizona homeowners, contractors, and builders since 2006. In that time, we've installed countertops in thousands of kitchens and bathrooms across the Phoenix metro and beyond. But every now and then, a project comes along that reminds us why we do this work in the first place.

The trades are the backbone of the construction industry, and programs like Salome High School's CTE Building Trades pathway are exactly how the next generation of skilled workers gets built. These students are learning to frame walls, run wire, set cabinets, and read blueprints, skills that are in high demand across Arizona and the entire country. By supporting this project, we hope to play even a small role in encouraging that path.

If you're a school, nonprofit, or community organization working on a project that involves countertops, cabinets, or flooring, we'd love to hear from you. Community is at the core of what we do, and we're always looking for meaningful ways to give back.

And if you're simply inspired by White Orion granite and want to see what it could look like in your own kitchen or bathroom, we'd love to show you. Explore our full range of countertop options, browse our granite countertop collection, or come visit us in our Phoenix showroom.