Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Joshua Hogans was there to watch his son, Jeremiah, walk across the same stage he did eight months before, when he wrapped up his program in Grand Canyon University’s Center for Workforce Development.
It’s natural for a son to follow in dad’s footsteps, right?
“Actually, I inspired him to join,” said Jeremiah before Tuesday’s fall Night of Celebration at Global Credit Union Arena.
Jeremiah Hogans was a senior last year at Apollo High School’s career day, when he learned about computer numerical control machines so precise he dreamed they could even perhaps build a guitar, his dream.
Instead, he learned that the one-semester CNC Machinist program at GCU would teach him how to use those machines to answer the question of what he wanted to do with his life.
“I think it’s something I can grow old with,” he said.
His dad was so enthusiastic about his new path, he decided to start GCU's Electrician Certificate Program and get a jump on his son, who was finishing high school. The former digital marketing professional wrapped up his electrician certificate studies last spring and is now an apprentice for McCarthy Building Companies.
“I really thought this was something for me, this shift and change, and that’s why I joined, to show him what this process would be like,” Joshua said.
It changed the whole household.
Joshua was rising at 3 a.m. to travel to a job site in southwest Arizona, while Jeremiah was rising at 6:30 a.m. for CNC study.
He saw his dad was engaged and happy – and making good money.
“We were able to go on vacation for the first time in a long time,” said Jeremiah, who is applying for CNC jobs.
There was nothing but smiles among the Glendale, Arizona, family of five, huddled after the ceremony.
“I’m very proud, very proud, of my son, and what he decided to do with his life, when he decided that he wanted to be part of something bigger,” Joshua said. “It's also changing the trajectory of our family.”
That’s one goal of the growing trades programs and pathways at the center, which called 158 participants to walk the stage in electrical and CNC programs and the Manufacturing Intensive Specialist pathway, sponsored by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
It also helps strengthen the robust Arizona economy, contributes to its infrastructure and fills employment gaps, university leaders said.
“Keep in mind, just three years ago, we had one sponsor, then we had two. But listen to this list,” said the center's director, Shelly Seitz, before naming 20 industry sponsors.
Friends and family cheered loudly for the participants, who took English, math and hands-on, industry-specific courses.
GCU President Brian Mueller had advice for them. Follow the words of Butch Glispie, the owner of Pono Construction who built much of GCU but started decades ago on the ground floor of the industry.
Mueller said he asked him how he got started, and Glispie said he “got to know the people running things and I asked questions. …
“The world is so open to you. Starting tomorrow and next week and next month, go at it the way Butch went at it. Get to know the people that are making the decisions and the people that have the experience and ask questions.”
Many are getting in on the expansive growth of the semiconductor industry in the Valley, and speeches by two participants of the Manufacturing Intensive Specialist pathway shared just how much that will mean to them.
Jade Goodin said his longtime career in IT was cut short when he became a family caregiver for five years. He sought a career with as much attention to detail as doling out the medications to his loved ones – but using $8 million equipment.
“Why would someone with your background want to work alongside 18-year-olds just out of high school?” Goodin said he was asked in an interview.
“But during caregiving, I was learning from home health aides much younger than me. What matters is who shows up, pays attention and takes pride in the quality of their work.”
Speaker Reyna Favela said it also has changed her in an unexpected way.
Derailed by hardships earlier in life, she drifted for 10 years before falling to her knees in despair one night in her bathroom and contemplating ending it all. With “divine intervention” she slept instead and had a vivid dream. Days later, she got an email about the Manufacturing Specialist Intensive pathway.
She made an immediate connection after joining, and on this night stood tall.
“Before I go, I'd like to share the dream God gave me before finding the MSI program. A soldier called out to me and a group of others to share that we were the only ones who knew the code to move forward. That code was the number nine,” she said. “After waking up, I spent some time doing some research on what this meant. I learned that the number nine is a symbol of completion, universal love and spiritual enlightenment, as it is the final single digit number and signifies the culmination of a cycle.
“Here we are on Dec. 9, celebrating our completion of the MSI program. Isn't that a confirmation that we're all on assignment?”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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GCU News: Center for Workforce Development is growing, changing more lives
