Local business offers students Masters course in electrical field

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette 

It was only a few weeks ago that Seguin High senior Ethan Rhea thought he wanted nothing to do with electricity or the electrical trades business.

Rhea said he wants to one day start a business building custom houses and now has a better appreciation for electrical trades.

“I really didn’t like it,” he said. “Electricity scares the crap out of me. I didn’t realize how much construction and electricity went together.”

He received an eye opener recently as his construction trades teacher Jason Rice secured a three-week commitment to have staff members of Seguin-based Masters Electrical Services LTD provide classroom instruction and more.

Masters started last year talking about getting more involved in the high school’s career and technical education department, said Jennifer Weddle, Masters’ community and project coordinator. Then Rice offered the company a chance to present a seminar for his students, she said.

“He was able to commit three weeks to the electrical trades and we were more than happy to lend our expertise,” Weddle said. “Careers in construction trades are always in-demand and are guaranteed employment, but young adults need to know what options are out there. During summer breaks, we have several students who work with us and earn while they learn by getting hands-on experience in the electrical trade.”

Students in Rice’s classes also received hands-on experience working with Masters, she said. Masters is in the middle of a couple active projects helping to build schools, Weddle said. The company provided materials and got helping hands from Seguin High students with electrical plugs, bending pipes and more, she said.

“We have to quality-control check it because it is going into a School,” Weddle said of the work students are doing to learn and help Masters. “Two things we’re trying to achieve are: one — give them a taste of the electrical field to see if they’re interested for a future career, and two — at the end of it, they’ll at least know how to fix a pipe, install a ceiling fan and have these skills for life.”

Students in the construction trades classes learned a lot from what Masters employees exposed them to and provided, Rhea said.

Taking on classes of the size Rice has would take him much longer to deliver less intense learning without the company’s help, the instructor said.

“I could not accomplish what these guys are going to know just today,” the teacher said on a recent day during a visit from Masters’ employees Weddle; Jay Garza, pre-fabrication manager; and Project Manager Joshua Spaw. “It would take so long to give the individual attention.”

The seminars came about as part of the Seguin High School Construction Trades Booster Club initiative. Masters is one of the members of the new club established to help local students learn about options after high school beyond four-year colleges.

Rice has other businesses lining up to present similar seminars to what Masters did, he said.

Things continue to come together well, Weddle said.

“This booster club is pooling together construction trades all over Seguin to unite and collectively assist the construction program at Seguin High School. Something like this has never been done before,” she said. “The goal of the booster club is to give students a look into different construction trades, i.e. electrical, plumbing, HVAC, general construction, etc., so that students can explore and decide where their skills and interests best fit in before starting their careers.”

View article on SeguinGazette.com