Almost 30 Mesa high schoolers graduate from electrical pre-apprenticeship program

Around 30 Mesa high schoolers recently celebrated graduation this summer, but not how you think.

A long list of juniors and seniors going to school in Mesa Unified School District recently graduated from an eight-week summer electrical pre-apprenticeship program run by Canyon State Electric. The students learned the electrical trade through hands-on education, interactive classroom sessions and role-play exercises. The students were all part of construction and technology education at Mesa High School.

“I think they’ve all been exposed to a career pathway, and for some of them, this program opened up an opportunity they never considered before,” Chantelle Frazee Jacobs, Mesa High School’s CTE career coach, said in a press release. “They did it on a whim, and now this is what they want to do,”

Developing an interest in trade labors and honing that into a passion was a goal of this program, especially for students who may not be interested in attending college.

“There’s a huge demand for skilled labor in the trades. These students were showing an interest in construction careers early on — we wanted to encourage that interest and develop it into a passion,” Sidney Hawkins, Canyon State Electric’s safety and training director, said in the press release.

Daniel Vargas, an incoming senior at Mesa High School, said in the release he felt destined to pursue a trade thanks to years of landscaping work with his father and grandfather.

Vargas said he felt college was not a good fit for him, which only furthered his interest in a trade profession.

“College didn’t really feel like it was meant for me. When I saw electrical as a trade, I applied to see if I’d like it — and during these eight weeks, I’ve learned that I really enjoy electrical work,” Vargas said in release. “I’m just going to come back to this company after high school, get to work and support my mom. I want to work hard and take care of the people I love.”

The ultimate goal of the program is to show students that construction or any trade labor is a viable career path, and one that might also lead them back to Canyon State Electric for a job post-graduation.

“That’s how I started, as a high schooler helping on small remodeling projects in my hometown,” Robert Hughes, CSE president, said in the press release. “We want these students to know that construction is a career path that can take them places, and Canyon State Electric’s doors are open when they graduate.”

To learn more about the summer apprenticeship program, visit https://canyonstateelectric.com/careers.