Jonathon Barba-Lopez was 16 when he found out he was having a baby—and made a decision that changed his life.
“I was in high school but walking a bad path,” he says. “I was depressed. I was skipping school. I was 16, about to be a father, and I needed a job.”
Jonathon enrolled in WRTP | BIG STEP’s Summer Trades Academy, a week-long program that exposes high school students and recent high school graduates to careers in the skilled trades. During a visit to a union hall, Jonathon realized carpentry was his calling and set out to do whatever it took to make it his career.
After the academy, Jonathon talked to the apprenticeship coordinator at his high school about applying for a youth apprenticeship at VJS Construction.
“I sent in my resume, waited a whole week, and I still didn’t get a response,” Jonathon says. “I drove to the job site and asked to speak to the foreman. Believe it or not, the first person I asked was the foreman, and we set up an interview.”
Jonathon showed up for the interview in construction clothes, ready to get to work. After about 10 minutes of talking, the interviewers offered him the apprenticeship and said they’d work around his school schedule.
“They gave me my hard hat and company shirts and said I’d start Monday,” Jonathon says. “I graduated from high school early. I joined the carpenters union and made the bridge to a registered apprentice. I was the youngest employee at the union.”
As a union employee, Jonathon got a raise and qualified for benefits immediately. His hourly wage also increased a little more each month as he progressed. After working at VJS, Jonathon is now doing his registered apprenticeship with CG Schimdt.
“I’ve become a stronger individual, working hard for what I have now,” Jonathon says. “I’m a leader in my church, encouraging youths with my testimony around the world through social media and in person, speaking to others from the stage and giving them hope. All glory to God at the end of the day for saving me from the bottomless pit I jumped into as a kid and molding me to the young man he wanted me to become.”
