05/10/2022
I am honored to have been invited to take part in this event! For years throughout my grade-school career all I ever heard was ”you need college to be somebody”, “without college you won’t amount to much”, “you need to learn this for college”, it was always about college, quite frankly that’s not all the way true. I will admit blue collar work is not easy, but it is a viable option, it is a very good option to those who are unsure of what they’re wanting to do after high school. Let me tell you that college isn’t your only option, I cannot stress it enough, learn a trade! You probably won’t fall in love with your job at first but if you stick around long enough you’ll learn to appreciate the “unimportant” things that really are important to our everyday lives. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC/R, pipe fitting, welding, framing, roofing, brick masonry, cement masonry, landscaping, carpentry, mechanic, oil field, road construction and so many more options are out there for the taking. I wish more educators would push for trades as much as they push for college. Do not take my words as an attack on college, but most people graduate college thousands of dollars in debt, and some cannot get a job in the field that they studied.
Come Friday I hope to Enlighten those 8th graders by showing them a glimpse of my field, and what this trade can do for them. I graduated high school without a clue of what I wanted to do, it wasn’t long after graduating that a ‘job’ fell on my lap, I started my career as an over paid HVAC Chauffer for a family owned HVAC business right outside of China Grove, I thank that man and his family for taking me under their wing and teaching me to the best of their ability! I always said that I wouldn’t work for a competing business but rather I would be the competition. Who knew that a temporary ‘job’ like that one, would shape my future into what it has become. I am thankful for the opportunity, I am thankful for those who pushed me to take that job, I am thankful for my teachers from school, but most importantly I am thankful for my old boss man W.L. Bullard! Thank you! - GO
