One graduate
Twelve booths and a second chance
Darnell came to a Thursday info session because his cousin dared him to. Fourteen weeks later he had a welding certification and two job offers.
Dana Grissom · Career coach
Darnell was thirty-one, had been out for two years, and was stocking shelves overnight at a store in Merrillville. He sat in the back row of Room 2 with his coat on and didn't ask a single question.
He called admissions the next morning anyway. His first question was whether the record mattered. The honest answer was that it ruled out two employers and not the other nine.
Evenings, four nights a week
The welding track runs from 5:30 to 9:30, which meant Darnell could keep his overnight job for the first month. After that the stipend covered enough that he could drop to weekends.
Ray never once raised his voice. He'd just hand you another plate and say, again.
By week ten he was laying vertical welds that Ray used to show the new class. By week thirteen he passed his AWS test on the first try, which about half the class does.
Hiring week brought two offers. He took the one at Calumet Fabricators because it had a second-shift differential and was ten minutes from his daughter's school.
Eighteen months later he is a lead hand on his line, and he comes back twice a year to talk to the Thursday info session. He sits in the back row, and he answers every question.
