“Don’t let people underestimate you, don’t underestimate yourselves.” – Olga Rodriguez, SER Chief Program Officer
After 17 weeks of perseverance and dedication, our welding class has graduated! Setting aside over four months of one’s life to work towards personal betterment is a tricky thing to do. However, we are incredibly proud of all of our graduates for how far they’ve come and looked forward to continuing their journey with them through our employment services and financial opportunity center.
At the graduation ceremony, our graduates were treated to a line-up of experienced speakers to give them some insight on their future potential as well as behind-the-scenes insider tips from industry professionals. Our Chief Program Officer, Olga Rodriguez, began by sharing our graduates a message of encouragement. She gives co-workers and SER partners one clear message, “do not underestimate our clients.” At the graduation ceremony, she wanted to make sure our clients got the same message: “Don’t let people underestimate you, don’t underestimate yourselves.”
We had guest speakers Maria Martinez of Weld Force Group and Alan Solorzano, President of South Coast Welding Academy, give our clients some industry secrets. But, ultimately, they gave them the same message:
- Do not be afraid to start as a helper.
- Hard work and initiative will take you far in the welding industry.
“The skills I learned here, no one can take from me.” – Edgar Salazar, Welding Graduate
We concluded the ceremony by inviting one of our students to discuss his time in SER’s welding program. “I’ve never been somewhere where it’s all up to us,” said Edgar Salazar when discussing SER. “I appreciate everything they gave us. They gave us unlimited resources.”
Our resources do not go very far without our clients’ drive “to be” successful. Our welding program is extended, rigorous, and very competitive to get into. We are proud of our graduates and look forward to watching their bright futures.