‘Unsung hero’ students prepare for careers

Every local student has a story about why they want to be in a job apprenticeship program with an area employer. For Drew Wise of Moline, the thought of welding for a living “just clicked” with him. For Jacob Mcleod of Rockridge, Illinois, his love of working on cars led him to an apprenticeship program. […]

Every local student has a story about why they want to be in a job apprenticeship program with an area employer. For Drew Wise of Moline, the thought of welding for a living “just clicked” with him. For Jacob Mcleod of Rockridge, Illinois, his love of working on cars led him to an apprenticeship program. And for Honesty Johnston of Davenport, it’s all about learning new skills.

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Those stories and many others took center stage during the Quad Cities High School Apprenticeship Signing Day on Wednesday, May 8. It was presented by the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation. The annual event featured 66 area high school students signing their apprenticeship intention letters with 20 different employers in six different fields. “We have to have a strong workforce. …. Your pledge today will help assure that,” Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher said during the ceremony at Vibrant Arena at The Mark in Moline. The event attracted several hundred people from the community. In addition to the students, the crowd consisted of educators, local government officials, employers and a lot of proud parents and family members. Many family members erupted into applause and cheers as their students went to a table at the front of the room and signed apprenticeship intention papers during the ceremony. The students also were praised by educators, employers and others during the ceremony. “They are the heartbeat of the community. … They are the unsung heroes of our community,” said U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R, Iowa First District, in a video message to the students that was played on Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, also sent in a video message, thanking the students for helping form a strong local workforce. “We need you and we are thankful for you,” he said. But many of the messages for the students came during the in-person speeches at the ceremony. Peyton Morse, a senior at Bettendorf High School and an EMS apprentice at MEDIC EMS, gave the students her views of the program. “My apprenticeship completely changed my life. … I learned lessons I will carry around my whole life,” said Ms. Morse, who works more than 40 hours a month at MEDIC EMS while also being a high school student. (Ms. Morse also was one of the students who signed apprenticeship papers at last year’s ceremony.) On Wednesday she had this advice for the students going into various apprenticeship programs: “Dive into it and soak everything up.” Several of the students going into programs said that was their top goal. “When I started learning about this program, it just clicked with me. I knew this is something I wanted to get done,” said Mr. Wise, 17, of Moline. He is working to become a welder at John Deere Seeding. Another student going into a welding program is Ms. Johnston, 17, of Davenport Central High School, who is also going into an apprenticeship at Deere. “I’m really interested in learning all the techniques of welding. … My teachers also really pushed me into learning all about this,” she added. For Mr. Mcleod, 17, his interests will take him into the auto body mechanic apprenticeship program at Zimmerman Honda. “I just like to work on cars. This will help me do that for a living,” he added. In addition to welding and auto body/mechanics, other students signed on for these programs:  certified nursing assistants, machining, electrical and software engineering. James Simmons, who oversees the construction work-based learning programs at North Scott High School, was one of the educators who attended Wednesday’s ceremony. He said all of those programs are vital to helping area students and the economy. “This is all important because these industries are starving for talent. …. This can help them all,” he added. Employers taking part in apprenticeship programs include: Allredi, Arconic, Automotive Central Full Service Auto Repair, Bowe Machine, Boyler’s Ornamental Iron, Climate Engineers, Davenport Electric Contract Company, Invio Automation, Jewell Group, John Deere, John Deere Cylinder, John Deere Harvester Works, John Deere Seeding, Lewis Machine & Tool Company, MA Ford, McLaughlin Body Company, McLaughlin Motors Body Shop, Oertel Metal Works, UnityPoint Health-Trinity and Zimmerman Honda. Here are the high school students from throughout the region who signed letters of intent on Wednesday to become apprentices:

• Bettendorf Community School District: Braden Cullison, welder at John Deere; Aiden Haut, welder at John Deere; Cole Neece, welder at Boyler’s Ornamental Iron; Judah O’Grady, welder at John Deere.
• Davenport Community School District: Carter Booker, welder at John Deere; Owen Burk, welder at McLaughlin Body Company; Memphis Cress, welder at John Deere;  Arrianna Dolph, software engineer at John Deere; Hailey Finken, welder at John Deere;  Mahki Hubbard, welder at John Deere; Jackson Hughes, software engineer at John Deere; Karsten Hulme, welder at John Deere; Honesty Johnston, welder at John Deere;  Carter Osborne, welder at McLaughlin Body Company; Toni Reimers, welder at John Deere; Greyson Schneider, software engineer at John Deere; Hannah Schreiber, welder at McLaughlin Body Company; Brody Stock, welder at McLaughlin Body Company; Hunter Strong, electrician at Davenport Electric Contract Company; Josh Strothers, welder at Allredi.
• Moline – Coal Valley Community School District No. 40: Anthony Campbell, CNC Machinist at Bowe Machine; William Campbell, CNC Machinist at Lewis Machine & Tool Company; Victor Casiano, welder at John Deere Harvester Works; Maclain Drucker, CNC Machinist at MA Ford; Matthew Herrick, welder at John Deere Harvester Works; Tori Kaesbauer-Luker, CNC Machinist at John Deere Cylinder Works; Abhik Mostafa, CNC Machinist at Lewis Machine & Tool Company; Tatum Rogers, CNC Machinist at Arconic; Noah Savala, welder at John Deere Harvester Works; Reid Schelker, CNC Machinist at Bowe Machine; Andrew Stoltz, CNC Machinist at Arconic; Jorge Vega, welder at John Deere Harvester Works; Drew Wise, welder at John Deere Seeding.
• North Scott Community School District: Aaron Carstens, welder at Climate Engineers; Jameson Christensen, CNC Machinist at Bowe Machine; Hunter Dean, welder at John Deere; Dawsan Dufloth, welder at Oertel Metal Works; Carlos Kennedy, welder Oertel Metal Works; Aidan McLaughlin, CNC Machinist at Jewell Group; Austin Reed, welder at John Deere; Blake Schmitt, welder at Invio Automation;  Greysen Tuftee, welder at Oertel Metal Works; Jackson Wood, welder at John Deere.
• Rock Island-Milan School District No. 41: Caleb Carpenter, welder at John Deere;  Grace Hathaway, CNA at UnityPoint Health-Trinity; Jolena Lannen, CNA at UnityPoint Health-Trinity; Colton Klossing, welder at John Deere; Kyleigha Mejia, CNA at UnityPoint Health-Trinity;  Layla Rice, CNA at UnityPoint Health-Trinity; Lyric Rice, CNA at UnityPoint Health-Trinity; Kaleb VanCoillie, welder at John Deere.
• United Township Community School District No. 30: Leonardo Chimal, software engineer at John Deere; Nathanael Hayford, software engineer at John Deere; Carson Killam, software engineer at John Deere; Delayne Sanderson, software engineer at John Deere. 
• The Area Career Center at United Township: Anthony Bialobrzeski, welder at McLaughlin Body Company; Ethan Brandom, welder at McLaughlin Body Company;  Emily Caudela-Cortez, welder at John Deere Harvester; Kristine Harmon, welder John Deere Harvester Works; Chase Hixson, auto body mechanic at Automotive Central Full Service Auto Repair; Jacob Mcleod, auto body mechanic at Zimmerman Honda; Madysen Morris, welder John Deere Harvester Works;  Kylen Payne, welder John Deere Harvester Works; Logan Selander, welder at John Deere Harvester Work; Bawi Tluang, auto body mechanic at McLaughlin Motors Body Shop; Brady Whitcomb, welder at John Deere Harvester Works.