tcrow@taylorisd.org
When Jared
Ochoa graduated from Taylor High School in 2016, he received a $25,000
scholarship from S&D Plumbing. Thanks to that local scholarship, and on the
job training that S&D continues to provide, he is well on his way to
becoming a licensed plumber.
“S&D has helped my goal of becoming a licensed
plumber by showing and teaching me new things every day out in the field,”
Ochoa said. “They send me to trade school up in Dallas called PHCC for four
days out of the week every other month. This course is an excellent route on
getting your plumbing license.”
For Sam Dowdy, president and CEO of S&D
Plumbing, awarding scholarships is more than just helping out with the expenses
of additional training after high school. It’s about changing lives.
“At the end of
the day, what we’re trying to do is better people’s lives, better our community
and create pathways for that to happen in education,” Dowdy said. “We have
stepped up to the plate as a company to say we want to portray this image of
what a professional does, how he looks in the public, and how he conducts
himself. If we work together as a community we can change people’s lives.”
Both companies within
this plumbing family are committed to reaching those goals. S&D, which
offers service plumbing, and Coppera, which specializes in commercial plumbing,
are now each offering two $30,000 scholarships per year. That’s four
scholarships totaling $120,000 each year.
Dowdy began
learning the trade when he was fifteen years old. When he graduated from high
school, his employer put him in an apprenticeship program with the local union.
That program was the model he used for developing the S&D Plumbing
scholarship. He has also been working with Taylor ISD to develop a quality
plumbing career path, and the next goal is to create a facility right here in
Taylor to train future plumbers.
“We want to train
the kids at our facility, giving them a world class education in the industry
where when they graduate they will be able to get a plumbing job anywhere in
the world with a plumbing license going with it,” Dowdy said. “We’re going to
try to create that here in Taylor.”
Ochoa began working for S&D Plumbing while
still in high school. He said the scholarship model Dowdy has in place is
preparing him very well for his future career.
“My work at S&D is great,” he said. “You
make good hours, and good pay. While I am at class I learn things that I’ve
never seen or heard of before. I am honored that S&D gave me this
opportunity. In just under two years I have learned so much from this company
and school.”
Dowdy said scholarships for the trades is not
a familiar concept, and that’s something he’s hoping to change.
“It’s
astounding to me that people think of this as such a foreign concept,” he said.
“The plumbing and construction industries don’t relate to the way scholarships
are. We want to enforce trade education and we want to push that, but we also
want to take care of our kids who go to college. And we want to blend those two
together where eventually they’ll be equal in the minds of everybody.”
Ochoa’s future
plans include getting his Journeyman Plumbing License and pursuing a career as
a plumber. He also encourages current high school seniors to apply for
scholarships to help them pursue their career goals as well.
“I would
encourage seniors to look at a program like this, especially if they are
thinking that college isn’t for them,” Ochoa commented. “A trade is an
excellent career to get into.”
Applications
for local as well as other scholarships may be found on the Taylor High School
and Legacy Early College High School websites. The deadline to apply for local
scholarships is March 9th.
