Jack Freeman: While the majority of students at Woodside High School are choosing to continue their education, there are a growing number of students that are choosing to forgo that and enter the trades.
John Buckley: Students like myself are choosing to enter the trades instead of college because they simply do not like school and want to go into the workforce.
John Buckley: Like many going through isolation due to the pandemic, I was on the hunt for a hobby. I baked, tried painting, I even tried to get into blacksmithing. However, nothing really stuck. That was, until I found woodworking. I built my very first workbench, and the satisfaction of board by board, cut by cut making something that would last decades to come honestly gave me peace and a sense of accomplishment during these difficult times. That is what got me to pursue the trades, specifically carpentry. I found that, while the trades are not for all, they give me chance to excel in the areas and ways that I could not in academics.
Mel Lynch: I never thought that college was for me. I’ve considered going and taking a couple of classes at a community college because, for a while, I wanted to be a mechanic, so I was going to take the mechanics class. Then, my mom wanted me to take some business classes, but I’ve never liked school. I’ve never done great in school, and I’ve never seen the appeal of paying so much money for something that I wasn’t going to enjoy.
Jack Freeman: Other students, like Will Polati, who wants to be a mechanic, find the trades an interesting and viable career choice.
Will Polati: I just find it incredibly interesting. I have a truck of my own, and it’s been really fun trying to figure out what’s wrong with it, and trying to fix it, and little things here and there.
John Buckley: Like myself, Will Polati has made the snap decision very recently to go into the trades.
Will Polati: I’ve seen this as a viable career path for the past six/seven months… My uncle is actually an incredible mechanic, and he has helped push me in the right direction, as far as my decision-making.”
Jack Freeman: Other students have had the option their whole lives.
Mel Lynch: My entire life, my dad’s side of the family, they’re all in the trades, and it’s what I’ve grown up around… They have encouraged it.
John Buckley: I, too, have a good support system that wants me to be happy with my career choice, college or not. However, the curriculum taught in schools is not as conducive for people who stray from the college path.
Mel Lynch: I’ve had to sit and argue with my counselor about what classes I do and don’t need to take because they still want to push for going to a four-year college or university. I have to sit and tell them I’m not going; I have no plan of going.
Jack Freeman: While facing some scrutiny from their teachers and counselors, more and more students are deciding the trades are an enticing opportunity.
John Buckley: For me, the trades were a way to work with my hands while also learning a skill that will forever be useful.
Jack Freeman: That seems to be the thought process behind many others as well, like Woodside senior Josh Corrales.
Josh Corrales: Well, I haven’t really looked into it, but I expect it to be hard work, just working with your hands and stuff like that.
John Buckley: Yeah, just manual labor.
Josh Corrales: Which I kind of like. I kind of like that stuff.
John Buckley: Yeah. That’s what I’ve noticed is a common theme for people like us, where they always enjoy working with their hands. Even though it’s a lot of grueling labor or whatever, it’s still rewarding to people because they get to work with their hands, or they get to make something and see their accomplishment. That’s a common theme I’ve noticed.
John Buckley: While I understand the trades aren’t for everyone, the ability to work with my hands, as well as make a decent living, was just the right path for me.
John Buckley: For the Woodside Paw Print, I’m John Buckley.
Jack Freeman: And I’m Jack Freeman
