I got a late start in higher education. I served in the Army for nearly 12 years before becoming a stay at home dad. over the 7 years that I stayed home with my son, for as much as I enjoyed it, there was always a voice telling me that I was capable of bigger things. I jumped in to a degree in criminal justice in my mid thirties and decided to chase that experience with law school. While I did well in my law courses, I just never felt like I belonged. Finally, after 3 semesters I came to the hard realization that working behind a desk would never satisfy the itch I was feeling. I then shifted my focus to the trades, I attended an HVACR course where I easily maintained a 4.0 GPA, and excelled at every task assigned. knowing that a fresh out of school 40 year old was not going to be great in the job market I decided to enroll in an industrial electricity course in order to not only make myself more marketable, but to satisfy my own thirst for knowledge. After spending so many years just going through he motions I found being in a classroom invigorating. I have since made a name for myself amongst my coworkers and class mates at the one with his nose to the grindstone getting things done, and getting them done well. by going back to school later in life I have benefited greatly from not being distracted by the social aspect of campus life, as well as being able to draw on my vast array of life experiences in order to better relate to most tasks at hand. Having experienced a great deal of the world my goals have become clearer. My plan with this new found education is to become a general contractor and be able to envision a project and help to guide it to its completion. I take a great deal of pride in a job well done, and with this accrued knowledge, I find myself in a much better place to choose the career path that's right for me. My plan to serve my community is to go to work each day and touting the advantages of trade school and encourage as many peers(and youth) to step up and attend a class that invokes passion in them and makes them want to learn more every day. This scholarship would help me a great deal financially, I currently attend night classes and work full time during the day. a windfall such as this would stand to allow me to focus on my studies more so than I have been able to the past 2 years. it would be a great relief to know that I can focus on my work without wondering if i had enough hours on the clock to keep the power on at the house. I greatly appreciate this opportunity!

My field of interest is the trades in general, I have previously earned a diploma for HVACR and am currently attending school for Industrial Electricity. I have always been fiercely independent and believe in the adage that a jack of all trades is better than a master of one. I refuse to let anyone else do what I can do myself. The impact that I hope to have is much smaller scale than most people would admit, I want to make a name for myself locally as being competent and thorough, and more importantly I want to set an example for my son, like my father set for me, that a hard days work is nothing to fear. After the military, I spent several years trying to figure out where my passions lay. That search led me to law school, where I discovered unequivocally, that my future did not have any place behind a desk. I took that realization with me to trade school where I have since flourished and found my niche in society. my personal reasoning for knowing that I am going to excel as a contractor lies in the feeling of satisfaction I feel each day when I get home and take my boots off, some people can get that feeling from a desk, I know now that I could never be that person.

My entire young life all I wanted to do was to be a Soldier, in August 2002 I got to live that dream. over the next 11.5 years, 35 Airborne Jumps, and 3 tours to Iraq I got to do all the things I dreamed of as a child. Then in 2014 the toll on my body became too much and I made the decision to move on to the civilian world. the first few years were relaxing, I was able to earn a college degree and be a stay at home dad for my son. unfortunately however, as the old adage goes; with comfort comes complacency. my relationship soured and my battle with depression led me to a divorce and a complete life reset at nearly 40 years old. As a veteran I know that adversity is never permanent, so I have chosen to use this setback as a spring board to my future by developing my skillset to foster a rewarding career in the trades. I was quite fortunate to have happened into a job I enjoyed, installing and repairing restaurant appliances. from there I decided to hone my skills by earning my HVACR certification. Never being one to rest on my laurels I dove directly into an Industrial Electricity course in order to set myself apart from my peers and to gain critical skills to work toward my goal of becoming a licensed contractor. My drive to do more comes from my dedication to providing for my son, and my own rabid desire to be the best at every thing that I do. I know that if I excel at the small things the big things will fall in to place. so that is my philosophy regarding work ethic and by proxy trade school. Thank you to the committee for your consideration!

As a current technician working in the field of HVACR, I have decided to add another skill set to my resume by enrolling in an Industrial Electricity course. With my ultimate goal of becoming a licensed contractor, I felt it was important to distinguish myself from my peers by expanding my horizons and becoming adept in as many trades as possible. Now with that goal drawing within reach I am striving every day to gain all the knowledge necessary to springboard my career ahead. never one to rest on my laurels, I put my nose to the grind stone every day in hopes of gaining the knowledge and connections i need to excel in my next adventure. This scholarship would be a game changer for me, I am currently working from 07:30-15:00 and attending class form 16:00-22:45. I have maintained this grueling schedule for the past 16 months. This award would set me up by giving me the ability to leave work early and focus on my own mental health during these final few months of my formal education, rather than being tied to a time clock each and every day just to keep the lights on in a house that I'm only in long enough to sleep. having the freedom to take a day or two off of work would also go a long way toward improving my, already respectable, academic achievements. By having time outside of school to look over my course material and apply some of the fundamentals in my own home, I feel like I could make great strides toward becoming an outstanding electrician. I am proud of my achievements thus far in trades school but would absolutely appreciate a push across the finish line, with the end in sight, but just out of reach motivation is coming at a premium and I believe this could be a welcome boost to moral. Thank you to each one of you on the board for your consideration!

Society has changed drastically in the past two decades and is on pace to evolve more and more rapidly with the advent of Artificial Intelligence and open-source global information found on the internet. Gone are the days of calling and waiting for the local handyman to find time to make a house call, todays population knows what they want, and they want it now! While many companies are able to outsource customer service or even develop AI chat bots to placate the customer with the illusion of problem resolution, the trades stand apart from the norm as each customers problem must be met with thoughtfulness and care in a timely manner. As a service technician you rarely get a call that does not feel like an emergency to that customer at the time. Whether heat/cooling is malfunctioning on the coldest/hottest day of the year, or their whole block is without electricity, and they just came from the grocery store. Every call has a level of nuance that simply cannot be handled by a computerized voice on the phone. The trades are indispensable in modern society because they provide service and comfort to people who do not want to, nor do they deserve to, suffer discomfort. Another area where folks stand to suffer from a lack of skilled tradespeople is public health. The plumbing field, for example, must always have plumbers on call, lest sanitation could suffer causing people to get ill. HVAC technicians provide a simar service by maintaining suitable conditions for children, ill, and elderly persons who are ill-equipped to handle temperature extremes. And without our Electricians keeping the grid up no one can do their job. The trades also hold a special place in modern society as skilled technicians will be the last jobs replaced by AI and robots. You may think it sounds like science fiction, however automation replacing human jobs has been documented for quite some time. To bright spot for trades people is that, to date, technology is still decades away from replacing a good technician in the field due to the nuance of every task as well as the location of many components preventing access, but for the most nimble of tradespersons. The need for refrigeration, sanitation and the electricity to provide those services and other creature comforts cannot be overstated. Suffering for the lack of utilities is quickly becoming a thing of the past and it is all owed to the proliferation of skilled tradespeople who do the difficult and often dangerous work that needs to be done in order to keep society running happily and comfortably. Tradespeople are the bridge between utility companies and customers, and are critical to the modern living conditions that people have come to expect and demand daily. With their role being more in demand than ever with the constant need for electronic devices and internet connection, the value of trades people is at an all-time high and likely to continue to build as more and more technology demands their attention to operate.

Ben Kempllin Hello, I am Benjamin Kemplin. I have lived what many would consider an eclectic life so far. I grew up in rural central Ohio, where I learned the value of an honest day's labor. Due to my fierce loyalty to my country and having been a senior in high school on 9-11, I Joined the Army as an Airborne Military Police officer. Over the next eleven and a half years I found myself serving 3 combat tours to Iraq as well as being stationed for a year in Germany. When I completed my Army time it was time to take on academia, I I earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and then did what any reasonable person would do, Applied to law school. I was accepted to a dual JD program at the University of Detroit Mercy and the University of Windsor, Canada. However, after 3 semesters, I realized I could never be happy or fulfilled working behind a desk. Thus, sparking my passion for the trades, a year later I moved back to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I attended HVACR technician training and am currently enrolled in an Industrial Electricity Program. I am a dedicated lifelong learner, who can readily admit there are things I do not know, but will never pass on an opportunity to find out! I chose to pursue trade school certifications in lieu of further University training because I firmly believe that there is absolutely nothing more satisfying than coming home dirty and exhausted from working hard. Also, as I look around me every day, I see people my age who have never even changed a light bulb. I believe in self-reliance and any skill I can use is a skill worth learning. Also, I love repairing and building things. To me home is a safe place to be oneself. A place to be comfortable and vulnerable. A place to relax and unwind, bring up a family and establish a foothold to be involved in community. Home is equal parts nostalgia, safety, comfort, and striving to elevate your future. There is nothing better than taking your boots off after a long day and sharing moments with your family from the comfort of home. To be clear, home does not necessarily need to occupy a physical space, it could consist of a beloved memory, a favorite item or especially a special person, who makes you feel happy and safe. In short, whatever makes you your best is home

Boatswain’s Mate Third Class Antonie Bernard Thomas Memorial Scholarship Benjamin Kemplin As an eleven and half year Army veteran my leadership ability and communication skills helped me safely maneuver my squad through a 15-month combat deployment to Iraq, I apply many of those skills every day in my daily life. Backward planning, risk assessment, accountability for both actions and equipment, as well as tenaciously sparring with management for what is in the best interests of the workers under my charge are just a few of the transferable leadership skills I honed while in the service. My leadership style is based in personal courage, I am never afraid to take in the absence of instructions which motivates my colleagues to perform to their highest potential as well, furthermore I am never averse to having a hard conversation with peers or leadership. Resililiance is a trait that anyone who has ever met me knows I could teach a master class on. I’ve been through many ups and downs and failures in my life, and I always keep my head up and drive on. I am supremely confident that no matter how bad things seem I will rise above and excel. Without getting too personal, 2 years ago I moved to Chattanooga with no money and no job and only the clothes I could fit in my truck. and in that time, I have become the section leader at my job, completed a HVACR diploma and am currently attending an Industrial Electricity course. Unselfishness has been a part of my mantra my entire life, from volunteering my time in my youth for various church organizations, to joining the military in a time of war directly out of high school. Placing others safety and wellbeing ahead of my own is, and always has been just part of who I am. Over the Past thirteen months, and counting, I have been attending trade school in the evenings. A typical day for me is clock it to work at 0730 and finish my evening classes at 2245. During that time, I have developed a solid reputation for putting my nose to the grindstone and sacrificing now for a more secure future for myself. A 4.0 GPA and numerous other accedemic accolades stand as a testament to my focus and determination. My earliest memories are of my father, a 43-year telephone cable splicer, leaving for work before daylight and coming home near sundown, weather-worn from the day. I knew how hard he worked to provide the privileged upbringing I enjoyed, and I strive to provide the same for my family. I have no illusions of making it big in the stock market or becoming an overnight sensation on Tik-Tok, I know that going to work and getting things done is the way forward for me and I love it. Nothing is more satisfying for me than an honest day's work, for both my physical and mental well-being. I challenge myself every single day and that work ethic has gotten me to where I am, and I am quite proud of it.