Joe Ford Trade Scholarship

I will be pursuing welding. I started from necessity because our family business runs heavy equipment and if you run heavy equipment you know things break and need repaired. I followed my dream of welding through some college classes offered as dual credit through a program at my high school. I have learned some basic welding and can weld with stick, mig, and tig. I plan to further my education at a trade school and want to enter pipe welding and aerospace welding classes. I have made a couple of attachments for our skid steer. I came up with the idea and build these custom for our needs. I made them from the idea and picture I had in my brain of what it should look like. I didn’t have blue prints. I coordinated with my dad on what he wanted the items to do, how they functioned, and the ideas he had on how to build them to his satisfaction. As I worked on them I would have to change things and adapt my idea and design and implement the changes. The great thing about welding is if something is broken or wrong you can fix it. I am currently working on an old school bus. It needs some rusty areas replaced. We are making it into an RV of sorts. We want to be able to take it hunting or to games and tailgate from it. I have researched a few schools and decided on one that another school mate has completed. He had nothing but great things to say about it. I toured that particular school and another and liked the one I chose better. I have spoken to several welders that have suggested routes to take to achieve my goals. One thing everyone has said is the local union is a great place to start. I believe the trades are a shrinking industry. It is very hard to find qualified people to do many things in my area. We rely on the local Amish for many things as they seem to have a crew for any trade you need here. I have had informal interviews with several people and have standing job offers locally or at least in my state. I would like to travel possibly and learn as much as I can through employment. I ultimately want to have a mobile welding business. If you were to call someone that knows me well they would most likely tell you that I love to weld and work very hard in anything I do. I am not afraid of physical work and am not afraid to get dirty. I work when the work is there and I put in the time. I take my education in this field seriously and do very well in the classes I have taken so far. I spend extra time outside of the classed perfecting my craft. I have a shop in our pole barn. I have asked for welders and welding equipment for the last several years at Christmas. I work to buy tools for my shop. When I am not working I spend most of my free time there working on things and practicing for class. My friends come to hang out there with me. I will show them how to weld if they want to learn. I have found that most people I talk to that are welders will help in any way they can for someone wanting to learn. I share my knowledge as well. I also blacksmith. I learned that at 4h and loved it so much I also have my own forging equipment. I have l participated in that for several years. My instructor/mentor has asked for my assistance with some of the younger kids. I usually complete my project very early in the meeting sessions and have free time to help instruct. I have attended local fairs and demonstrated with other local blacksmiths. love to make knives and have been commissioned to make some for a national conservation organization to use as fundraising for their local chapter. I learned to blacksmith before I learned to weld and I feel like it led me to welding.

1. I am going to pursue an HVAC-R certification after graduation. 2. I became interested in HVAC-R in January 2023, when I was able to enroll in a certification course called "Trade Awareness" at the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades. As high school students we were given the opportunity to explore the different Trades classes that are offered by the school. Without the ability to have experienced this class, I don't know if I would have been able to confidently know which direction I want to go with the Trades. 3. My father owns and runs a Landscaping business, and I have been driving his commercial-grade walk-behind and zero-turn mowers since age ten. I have been doing maintenance on these mowers as well, and have experience using the commercial-grade stand-on blower Windstorm, that has a 37 hp fuel-injected engine. I regularly go to his shop and assist him with the maintenance of his equipment and machinery as well. I also enjoy working on my car, mountain bike, and I am the go-to person in the house if anything technical or mechanical has problems, or needs to be installed. I have always been interested in hands-on work and it has been the best way for me to learn throughout my education. 4. My educational and career goals start with taking certification classes at The New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades in Hampton, New Hampshire. I will be able to become a certified HVAC-R Technician when my classes end. I have already signed up for my Air Conditioning certification course which starts at the beginning of May, and my Heating and Oil course starts in September. I have also been working as an intern at Dowling Corporation (HVAC-R) since September which has reinforced the feeling that I have found my calling. I have been getting a lot of experience during my internship, from electrical installation to laying piping down. I have started my training with some amazing technicians who have taught me a lot. While attending the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades I will be continuing work with Dowling Corporation in an apprenticeship position that they have offered me. Being in the HVAC-R field will allow me to do hands-on work in my community, that I know I will truly enjoy. 5. If someone were to call an adult in my life that knows me well, I believe that it would be my father who would recommend me for this scholarship. I didn't have an easy time getting through school, it was difficult, and I never felt like I could do as well as other students. My father has seen how much I've struggled with school, and how everything changed for the better when I first started going the Trade School. My father would recommend me to receive this scholarship because he knows how interested and invested I am in the HVAC-R field. He has been able to see me getting excited and more confident about my future.

1. Mechanical Engineering 2. As someone who has strived to be politically informed, I've always been aware of many environmental issues across the world. I often read articles, watch documentaries, and research climate policies. In doing so, I've learned that many fail to take action on serious problems such as climate change, ocean pollution, and deforestation. Not only is this heartbreaking, but it is irresponsible that companies do not consider how their actions affect the various ecosystems worldwide. This lack of justice has caused me to become interested in the sources of pollution in the world and the approaches scientists are taking to combat it. I believe that through mechanical engineering, I can help be a part of the shift to renewable energy and apply alternative energy sources to some of our everyday machines. 3. Recently, I organized a fundraiser for UMass Memorial's Children's Hospital. This project required me to be very adaptable, as not every plan I intended worked out. Getting money from sponsors was very difficult, and I often had to change how I presented myself and get creative when pitching my plans to companies. Additionally, I had to think outside the box about ways to raise money that would bring in money. Often, many places I wanted to host a fundraiser would not comply as my pitches were too elaborate or complicated, so I had to review my plans and create more refined and straightforward ideas. I decided to host a mini-golf fundraiser, and being adaptive within the plan helped me make 3,000 dollars for the hospital. This summer, I attended Boys State, hosted by the American Legion. At this camp, I was put into a town with other attendees, and we had to tackle complex political problems varying from environmental issues to financial issues. Here, I learned to gain new perspectives from diverse groups of people and be creative when solving problems that could have multiple answers to them. This experience gave me skills I can utilize in my engineering classes at my high school! Lastly, as a Special Olympics student liaison, I have to work with others to think outside the box and invent safe and fun games for all athletes. It is important that all athletes can participate in the games, so it takes a lot of trial and error to develop a new idea that is easily accessible and works well. I often work to be creative when suggesting new game ideas and problem solve based on my restrictions. For example, when constructing an obstacle course as one of the events, I need to place the obstacles at a certain distance, use materials that are not harmful to anyone, and manipulate the course so that all can run through it and enjoy the day. 4. I plan to attend college and develop a strong background in mechanical engineering that is needed to research renewable energy. Through college, I want to undergo an internship with an organization that focuses on green energy and sustainability to help me gain knowledge in the field and hopefully create some efficient and environmentally safe machines. I'm interested in exploring fuel cells and how to apply similar systems to larger machines. I was accepted into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and will commit there; at RPI, I can take all courses necessary to develop a strong engineering background and knowledge to solve some of these complex environmental problems. 5. Linda Colby, a strong activist in my community, would recommend me for this scholarship. As someone who is constantly donating her time to the community, Linda Colby has seen the effort I put into helping others and ensuring that my community succeeds. Whether I am volunteering at the food pantry or organizing a fundraiser for the local children's hospital, Linda Colby can speak to my true character and my work ethic. She believes I am kind-hearted and strives to indulge in diverse academic backgrounds. She knows that when I have a goal in mind, nothing will prevent me from finding a way to reach the level of achievement that I hope to obtain. I've worked closely with Linda Colby this summer, helping my high school transition to a new building. We have bonded over our ability to stay motivated and adapt to the different struggles that came along the way. She would recommend me for this scholarship because she knows how passionate I am about sustainability and believes that I have the perfect work ethic needed to obtain such high goals due to my numerous leadership positions and previously shown dedication to my community.

1. I will be going to the HVAC trade by going to MCC in HVAC and working at Joys HVAC I have previously worked there in the summer. I very much enjoyed my experiences so far. 2. I am interested in this trade because it is one of the best trades out there that can set you up for success, and I have seen that with my father who is also in the trade, and my uncle who is also in the trade. I also love to work with my hands with things also my favorite part of the trade is showing up to the job and being decisive on how are we gonna identify the problem with the system and how are we gonna fix it? 3. I take an HVAC class at my high school and helped put up a Mr.Cool mini split, took apart air conditioners, and put them back together, also I put refrigerant into a cooler training board. When I was working at Joys HVAC over the summer of my junior year I had to troubleshoot air conditioners and find out what was wrong with them. 4. My future plan is all lined up for me to succeed in the HVAC field, I have a job lined up at Joys HVAC and will be working there and learning the trade at Manchester Comunity class, I have already done some classes at MCC which includes, HVAC 101, Nutrition/lab, quantitive reasoning, I took some of these classes because it is part of 2 free credits that are offered at my school, and these classes will reduce the price of the college further down the line. I am also doing a Work Ready NH class at Great Bay Community college where I am learning how to communicate better in the workplace and be educated on how to build resumes and general work knowledge, also the company LAARS sent over some of their workers so we can learn from them and their experience throughout the years. 5. If you were to call an adult in my life that knows me well I am confident that they would recommend me to get the scholarship because I work hard every day and try to get better and am very kind to people. Thank you for your consideration. I am excited to start my journey in HVAC and look forward to learning more in this field.