Jake Stiers poses for senior photos at Marietta in October. (Photo Provided)
MARIETTA — Marietta resident Jake Stiers, 18, is a senior enrolled in the electricity program at the Washington County Career Center.
He attended Warren Local School District before enrolling in the program for his final two years in school.
“I’ve always thought it (electrical) was really cool, and my dad works in construction,” said Stiers. “This is a really cool trade and I could get a lot of benefits or join a union and work with my hands.”
Stiers said he realized early on he didn’t have much of a desire to sit in the classroom all day and he wanted to focus on hands-on work. For his program, he has a lot of opportunities to learn about electrical work through hands-on projects and classes.
“We’re actually building a house right now,” he said.
Jake Stiers secures a piece of PVC conduit during his electricity class at the Washington County Career Center in September. (Photo Provided)
The seniors in the program are configuring the wiring and electricity as part of their daily tasks at the career center. He said the carpenters had built the house and now it’s their turn in the electrical program to start putting the wiring together.
“We have to get it checked out by people who actually do these jobs so it’s gotta be a really good, working house,” said Stiers. “We just started this about three weeks ago.”
He said after their classwork they’ll head outside to start working on the house for however long they need to get what they need to do done.
Stiers said he’s enrolled full-time at the career center. He played soccer at Warren his freshman year but decided to commit fully to the electrical trade.
“I like doing stuff with my hands and building things and I thought this was the best career choice for me to join,” he said.
From left, Max Himmeldirk, Sam Miller, Ben Kelly, Jake Stiers, and Clay Perry pose for a picture for Warren High School’s senior prom in April. (Photo Provided)
Stiers said early placement is coming up in the next few months which gives students in the program an opportunity to work full-time in a position as class credit. He said after graduation he’s hoping to join a union and get accepted into a five-year apprenticeship where he’ll work his way up.
Stiers said he enjoys fixing cars and there was a point in time where he debated pursuing mechanics as a career. He said due to the longevity of a career in electrical work, he decided learning the trade would be beneficial.
“I thought (mechanics) would be harder on my body and it won’t pay as much as electrical work,” he said.
Stiers said he still wants to work on cars and replace parts but it would be more of a side hobby during his career as an electrician.
Stiers said he’s been a student ambassador at the career center for two years and he spends a lot of time talking with students who are visiting from other schools about the programs it offers.
Jake Stiers poses for senior photos at Marietta in October. (Photo Provided)
He said he has to make a pitch to the students about why they should enroll at the career center.
“I usually ask if they like working with their hands or if they’re just tired of sitting in a classroom all day because that’s where I was … I wanted to get up and go do stuff,” he said.
Stiers was also a previous member of Students Solving Problems his sophomore year which was before he came to the career center. He said the experience was cool and he enjoyed being able to focus on problem solving and helping other students.
When Stiers isn’t working on electrical wiring at school, he works a couple of shifts as a server at the Glenwood Community in Marietta.
“I love the residents and I know almost all of them on the assisted living side by name, and it’s a great atmosphere,” he said. “I see them as a second family to me.”
Elaina Stiers and Jake Stiers smile for a photo at a family wedding in August. (Photo Provided)
He said he recently hit his year mark about a week ago and he’s been enjoying working with everyone and seeing the residents.
A few weeks ago, Stiers and a few servers at Glenwood received flowers for the residents and ended up having a few hundred extras. He said they decided to take the flowers to Walmart and pass it out to everybody who wanted one.
“Wokring hard, showing up and doing your best, that’s what’s going to get you most places,” he said.
Stiers said he loves the area and his family and he wants to establish his own family and career in the Marietta area.
“I love the people here. I know a lot of great people in this area and I like how it’s not very busy,” he said. “There’s not a whole bunch of people here but the people that are here are like a little community and I just love that about this place.”
Sophie Boothby and Jake Stiers pose for a photo at Warren High School in October. (Photo Provided)
Stiers said he likes helping other people and making the community stronger in various ways.
When he’s not in school or working, Stiers enjoys camping and mountain biking. He said he went mountain biking with his dad on Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia one year.
“I biked 40 miles one day when I was 15 years old,” he said. “I just decided I wanted to bike all day.”
He said he enjoys biking on the trails near Marietta and Athens and at the Broughton Nature and Wildlife Refuge.
Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com
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John, Elaina, Jake, and Susan Stiers pose for a photo while on a hike at Audra State Park in November. (Photo Provided)