Photos by Tanielle Gilbert
Allen White said 15 years ago, it’s likely you wouldn’t have seen him walking across a stage to celebrate a milestone. You would have been more likely to see him in a prison lineup.
“They see my title, they see my success and they see the legacy. They feel the finish line, but they do not see the dirt I had to crawl through to get here,” said White, president and owner of Winsupply of West Phoenix.
He spoke to more than 115 aspiring electricians, machinists, semiconductor technicians and construction professionals at Grand Canyon University’s Global Credit Union Arena on Thursday for the Center for Workforce Development’s Night of Celebration.
They were there to do what White said he couldn’t do back then – cross the stage. Those participants received completion certificates from the university’s burgeoning, trades-focused center.
At 19 years old, White said his life did not look like a success story. It looked like a tragedy.
“I’d woken up in the desert one day, black and blue and emaciated, with no recollection of how I’d gotten there. Staring back at my reflection in the truck window, I did not recognize the ghost looking back at me.
“My only thought at the time was: How long until I die?”
He had spent his youth as a football player, wrestler and BMX competitor. Being an athlete was his identity.
But after he snuck out one night to get high, he crashed his bike and broke his neck in three places. The light in his life went out, as did his identity. By 17, he was homeless, living in the cab of his truck. He stole jewelry from his family and pocketed donations from the Goodwill where he worked at the time. He had burned every bridge he had.
But he woke up in that desert and decided it was time for a change.
Part of that change included a new purpose in the trades. “I began earning respect when I stopped pretending to be someone I wasn’t.”
His big advice to those following his footsteps into the trades and began that journey at GCU: Be authentic, and if you mess up, own it and use those flaws to map and guide others. He left the CWFD’s class of 2026 with these pillars he follows, which never have failed him:
- Build trust in relationships – your reputation is the only true currency that matters
- Do what you say you are going to do; integrity is a rare commodity
- Hold yourself accountable
- Own your mistakes
- Get wildly uncomfortable. Growth only happens when you leave the safety of what you know.
Just four years ago, 39 participants completed the first cohort of the CWFD in the only offering at the time, the pre-apprenticeship for electricians. On Thursday, almost three times as many completed pathways and undergraduate certificates in four trades industries.
“Somebody from that (first) class was apprentice of the year (this year). He was in this seat, where you are, four years ago,” said GCU Provost Dr. Randy Gibb during his opening remarks, referring to Richard Sharer, named apprentice of the year of Union Local 640 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union.
As of this semester, said center Director Shelly Seitz, 1,021 participants have gone through the center’s programs, including Brandon Kramer.
Kramer, who received his undergraduate certificate for electricians and is re-careering, spoke about life’s second chapters.
“Six months ago, I wouldn’t have been doing this,” he said.
He struggles with anxiety and panic disorder, he said. But during his weeks at GCU, “It forced me to step out of my comfort zone, work with people and speak face to face. I can honestly say I’ve grown more comfortable because of it.”
Kramer spent more than 20 years in different industries, from automotive to marketing to health care and human resources. He’s been laid off twice, in 2016 and last year, just before the holidays.
“That forced me to take a hard look at my life and ask, ‘What do I really want?’ ” he said. “ ... This program gave me a chance to step away from a path that no longer fulfilled me and moved me toward something I’m passionate about.”
He wanted to share this with those completing their certificates, like he did, “Starting over is not failure. Starting over can be the opportunity that changes everything. … You are never stuck, and it’s never too late to start over.
He wasn’t the only one re-careering. So was Veronica Diedrich, who completed the CWFD’s Manufacturing Specialist Intensive. She had worked for the government and private sector in a variety of industries for decades.
She felt unfulfilled in her previous work and unsure about her future.
“It felt like I was stuck on a hamster wheel. Job insecurity even forced me to sell my car to pay bills.”
When she was sending out resumes in January, she saw Seitz on a television interview talking about the Manufacturing Specialist Intensive to train students to work in the semiconductor industry as technicians. GCU partners with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to do so.
She called immediately. Five days later, she had a seat in the classroom.
“Reinventing myself is nothing new,” she said. “I’ve always considered myself to be a lifelong learner.”
And just like Kramer, she has started over and reinvented herself again.
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, and to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly,” she said, quoting philosopher Henri Bergson.
The center, too, has changed much since its start.
What’s new for the center is its general construction program is expected to be financial aid eligible by the fall.
Also, the Manufacturing Specialist Intensive was offered for the first time to high school students at Boulder Creek High School. Students have a chance to be hired after they turn 18 years old by TSMC.
“We’re going to run that again this summer with another high school,” Seitz said.
TSMC has moved from a 60-student cohort, to 80, “and now the forecast for fall, we’re saying probably 100 (students). … They’re asking for more because they need thousands of people for this role” Seitz said.
And the center is focused on continuing to fill those trades roles.
White told those at the Night of Celebration that it’s time to go out and get their hands dirty as they embark on their trades careers: “Build something that lasts, not just with your hands but with your hearts.”
Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at [email protected] or at 602-639-7901.
