I feel as if Kevin and I share a common spark, the one that comes from welding. Sitting in a traditional classroom was just short of torture, school was always hard to put my best effort into, and ADHD made it hard to stay focused, but when I started my CTE program for welding during my sophomore year, everything just made sense. My classroom came alive, bookwork was less tedious, and projects were a way to connect with my creativity. My first project was a plant stake: overly tall, misshapen, flattened metal flower welded to a stick. When I brought it home and saw how happy my mother was with something I had created, the silliness of the project disappeared. From that project and onto the next, followed by SkillsUSA competitions surrounded by other people as passionate about sparks flying as I was, I knew I found my path and it was going to be full of excitement. I have always tried to find positive ways to keep myself busy in sports, working, and fixing cars with my friends. As a multi-sport high school athlete and owner/operator of a small lawn care business, I found that CTE programs left a lot of flexibility in my schedule to grow my mowing business and still participate in the sports I love: soccer in the fall and lacrosse in the spring. It also allowed me to work on a Christmas tree farm during the holiday weeks of the cold winter. My initial plan was to keep grinding every day, work harder than the next guy, and make my way in this world until I found out that high school CTE programs are often feeder programs to trade schools at the college level. This was something I was NEVER going to do, but I am enrolled in a four year bachelor's program for Welding and Fabrication Engineering Technologies because of the passion I found in welding. Through a college education, I know that I will find new doors to open, creative outlets, and hopefully a company to work for that allows me to travel the country, if not the world. Eventually I want to settle down and open my own welding shop where I can be a part of a community, serve those around me, and encourage young welders with local scholarships. I have a long way to go before I am able to do that, but I have seen how a community comes together for others and know that I want to be a part of making that happen. Encouraging young welders to enter the field and find their passion while making it a little less financially restricting is an end goal, but first I have to start freshman year at Penn College of Technology and earn my place on the soccer roster. I never saw this coming three years ago, but my CTE program put so much in motion for me, and I will always be grateful for that. I would love to honor Kevin by throwing sparks in his name.

His property was a mess. He was stuck in the house with medical issues and no way of making his situation better. I had a way to help him with the tools and machines I used for my business. In my community, which is getting busier, we still have large open places, and it is a challenge for some of our community members when they find themselves in a situation where there is just too much work to do on their property for them to handle on their own. My personal challenge was how to help them. I knew that working with my hands was the path for me. I entered the welding program in my high school during my sophomore year, which was the same year I started my own mowing and landscaping side business. I was already a busy person juggling school, three varsity sports, friends and family, but I knew I could make money to help save for college, so I added "small business owner" to my resume. The more I worked, the more I could impact my savings. My parents helped me get the mower and tools, but I've paid them back and own my equipment outright. My challenge in this community has been seeing people struggling to keep up with their properties when difficult times fall on them and not knowing how to help. It is hard for me to watch a property fall into disrepair knowing I have the ability to improve the situation. One particular property owned by a man named Doug was in bad shape. Through my connections in the community, I was able to reach him and we discussed the needs on his property, which included everything from mowing to tree trimming requiring a chainsaw. It was a massive job and I knew that I didn't have enough time on my own to help him. Our community has a helping spirit and I was able to rally seven of my friends to help me clear and clean up Doug's property. He could not pay us due to his excessive medical bills, so we made it a volunteer event in which we gave our time to someone in need free of charge. Doug's property was cleared, but I was able to look back with pride at the job I had to do and how it was accomplished. With open areas in our community, I have seen many properties fall into disrepair when the owners are physically or financially unable to keep up with maintaining it. I see it as an opportunity to either make money to save for college or to lend a helping hand in my community. Working with my hands, owning my own business, and having an giving heart, has allowed me to see the needs of those around me and try to make a difference.

1. Joey is my name and welding is my game, but traditional school classrooms were not. Welding allows me to think creatively, move and work with specialized machinery, and use my creativity to construct, build and create in a variety of mediums. It allows me to continue learning, something I love doing, but not be stuck in a stuffy classroom. 2. I was bit by the travel bug when my family ventured to Germany and Austria for a trip. Since then it has been my plan to attend my college welding program at Pennsylvania College of Technology to learn all I can about welding before finding a job. My dream job after graduation would be within a company that promotes welding in different regions of the United States and potentially around the world. After building my reputation as a welding professional and increasing my repertoire of skills, I plan to open my own welding company. I would like this to be in a community in which I settle to raise a family so that I can be directly involved in supporting the local community and mentoring young welders with the same ambition I had starting out. One immediate goal I have after establishing my welding company is to be involved in donating to or starting a scholarship for young entrepreneurs like myself. 3. School was my nemesis growing up. I was never going to college because once I was done what was required, I was not returning for more torture. But then tenth grade happened, and I met my English teacher, Mr. Gregory, and started attending the welding vo-tech program through my high school. Through his teaching, Mr. Gregory taught me how to learn best for myself. I wrote better essays, I earned better grades, and my confidence level rose significantly. In the welding shop I found a new kind of classroom that wasn't confined to textbooks and desks. This new classroom contained special equipment, fireproof gear and SPARKS! The fact that I learn differently, do not like to be confined to a desk all day, and need to move were no longer things that held me back, but they allowed me to flourish and become a great student. I just needed to find the place that I fit. Everything has become simpler because I know myself better as a learner and have worked to become better in any educational setting as I have matured, even in the classrooms with desks.