CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a Tuesday morning, the ROC Charlotte's North Direct campus is alive with activity and construction sounds.
Sherod Daniel, a senior from Julius L. Chambers High School, is among those working. As he saws and bends electrical conduit, in a way, he is also shaping his future.
"Seeing myself from my freshman year to now, I never really thought I'd be going into something like this," Daniel said. "It's really exciting."
While his high school peers are in classrooms learning, Daniels is off-site, absorbing the skills for what he hopes will become his trade in electrical work, and doing it in a way, that most resonates with him.
"I like learning with my hands," Daniel said. "That's what helped me progress this far."
Soon, he will start an apprenticeship with Industrial Electric, an achievement bringing pride to himself and his mother.
"She's glad I found something I genuinely like," Daniel said. "Because it was hard."
The organization making all this happen, ROC Charlotte, is a nonprofit focused on recruiting, educating and mentoring high school students for high-demand trades. Training happens during the school day, and students are bussed from six schools in under-served areas around Charlotte to ROC campuses to actively work towards their career goals. The construction-based curriculum has three main areas of focus: electrical, mechanical and carpentry.
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Darren Ash, ROC Charlotte's executive director, said while the program imparts the trade skills needed and helps connect students with apprenticeships with companies, their teaching of certain "soft skills" is also key.
"This is a pretty tough industry," Ash said. "So, we're preparing the students how to work as a team, handle conflict, stay off their phones."
"We employ some behavioral science models of what life really is like, why you would want to look someone in the eyes, make eye contact because you're relating to another human," Ash continued.
While many see the work at hand as a high school shop class, Ash emphasized this is training that is truly getting students ahead of the curve when it comes to the construction trade and fills a frequently missing trade training pipeline from schools to the construction industry.
"This is actually college credit for Central Piedmont Community College or national certifications," Ash said.
The ROC tries to support students as much as possible in their transition into apprenticeships, even with services like transportation to and from job sites. Five years ago, the organization started with 25 students. Now, they serve 200. Ash said it costs after $5,000 to send one student through the program for a year.
Patricia Aguilar-Aviles, another senior in the ROC program, is also planning to pursue an electrical focus. In a couple of weeks, she will embark on an apprenticeship with Adams Electric.
But she's already looking beyond that with optimism over other achievements her future could bring.
"Maybe I have my licensing already?" Aguilar-Aviles said, with a smile. "I have my own company, maybe? My own home. I can have my family over."
Aguilar-Aviles said she will be following in her father's construction footsteps, a fact her family is still trying to grasp.
"They don't really believe it yet," Aguilar-Aviles said. "They're still in shock that I chose this career, but they're wonderful. And they very much helped me out every single time I needed them."
When asked if she had anything to add about her experience with the ROC program, she shared a message of encouragement in Spanish for her peers, telling them to choose the path they want, push for their goals and work hard.
WCNC Charlotte, the TEGNA Foundation, the Parham Family Charitable Fund and Steel Skin Realty believe in helping people in the community get ahead and learn new skills. Tuesday, the groups presented the ROC with $10,000 to continue its education efforts.
To donate to the cause, visit the ROC Charlotte's website.
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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