My start to life wasn’t easy. My parents divorced after my father, a marine and firefighter, became addicted to drugs when I was just an infant. My mom would go on to raise four children all while trying to balance a career as a police officer and begin her enlistment into the air force.
At the age of nine, my stepdad entered into my life. Soon after, I started getting mixed up with the wrong crowd. I got kicked out of several schools by the age of 16. It was about this time, my stepdad introduced me to the construction industry. The two of us would travel to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, DC and Virginia working as pipefitters building kilns that helped dry out trees used for building.
Unfortunately not long after, I once again felt the pain of another divorce when my stepdad left. Without a positive male influence, I continued to make poor choices. I had no mentor or sense of direction, and struggled to figure out a career path.
Never having a stable father figure in my life had a profound effect on me. However the day I found out I would become a father, I gained motivation to seek out a stable environment for my growing family. I thought back to how the guys on the construction job site interacted. I admired the respect and teamwork they showed one another, and how the job gave me a sense of structure. It was the first time I felt accepted. I then reached out to a friend who was a plumber, and jumped on that career path.
I feel more confident than ever that I choose the right industry. I am able to support my family financially along with their musical ambitions. I glow with joy when I see how proud my daughter is of me when I make repairs at home. I love that my little helper likes to work side by side with her dad.
I choose Shapiro & Duncan because it’s a family company that supports my goals of continuing education. I find a great sense of accomplishment when I achieve the various certifications that S&D requires. I plan to take all that I learned and perhaps, in the next 10 years start my own business.
