Jennersville, PA - It’s always a nice circumstance when life comes full circle, especially when it pertains to someone giving back to the school or community which helped shape them as a person. This is precisely the case with Mike Graham, a former student at the Center for Arts & Technology (CAT) Brandywine Campus who is now helping to build the new Technical College High School in Jennersville.
“It’s always a good feeling when you can give back to your alma-mater,” said Graham. “Plus the fact that this is the first vocational school to be built in Pennsylvania in 30 years, it’s a great feeling.”
Graham, who now works as a foreman for Guy M. Cooper Mechanical Contractors, graduated from the Center for Arts & Technology nearly 18 years ago where he majored in heating/ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
“I entered CAT Brandywine in what would have been my sophomore year in high school. I had actually been working on the side with my father in appliance repair, so once I got to CAT, everything just seemed to work out really well.”
Mike won school, state, and district titles in the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America competitions, or VICA now known as Skills USA, his first year in school.
“The way it works is, they present you with a broken appliance, and you’re job is to assess the problem as fast as possible, and either fix it or tell them how to fix it.”
A natural at this, he quickly impressed the judges and his teachers, which would lead to his eventually being named to CAT Brandywine’s hall of fame.
“They had HVAC simulators at school, which would show you all the possible ways for things to go wrong, and teach you how to problem solve or fix any potential issue.”
But it wasn’t only the labor aspect that the teachers at CAT taught him.
“One of the biggest things I got from my time at CAT, was how to deal with customers and homeowners. Of course they couldn’t actually bring in any customers for us to deal with, but they gave us the tools for how to deal with the public.”
Graham was later able to parlay his time at CAT into a productive and fulfilling career in HVAC and ductwork, which led him to be in the special position of former student helping to build the newest addition to the CAT family.
Though the Technical College High School is of course nothing to scoff at, it is surprisingly one of the smallest projects Graham has ever worked on.
“We’ve been here for just about a year and we’re nearly finished. The last project I worked on, Pennridge High School, took nearly four and a half years and the contract was about $12.7 million dollars.”
The Technical College High School has already reached the “substantial completion” stage, which literally means it is ready for “intended use,” though of course there is still much to be done.
Graham will continue his work there for several weeks to come, no doubt relishing the chance to help build a place where children like he once was, can go and learn in a positive and inspiring atmosphere, and maybe someday become the next Mike Graham.
Graham lives in Gilbertsville, Pa. with his wife Andie and their son Eric.
By Calvin Setar
