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Class of 2023 Apprenticeship graduation

14 skilled tradespeople complete UVA Apprenticeship Program

The UVA Apprenticeship Program celebrated the graduation of 14 employees during a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

The graduating Class of 2023 included the following individuals:

• Electrical: Joshua Cunningham, Garrett Hatmaker, Charlie Henderson, Rebecca Hord, Bryce Humphreys and Hunter Monroe.
• HVAC: Ashley Bell, Travis Castellanos, Pedro Gonzalez and Blake Shifflett.
• Plumbing: Allen Anderson, John DeBilzan, Ryan McCarthy and Gabriel Reedy.

Speakers included Senior Vice President for Operations and State Government Relations Colette Sheehy, Associate Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Don Sundgren and Utilities Supervisor and 2019 Apprenticeship graduate Marcus Klaton.

“This graduating class includes 14 individuals who joined Facilities Management in August 2019 and spent most of their apprenticeship in pandemic conditions,” said Sheehy. “This class completed 3.5 out of 4 years of classroom instruction online rather than the traditional in-person format and spent much longer periods of time in fewer rotations.”

Kathleen Ford and Richard Bonnie presented the Ed Ford Outstanding Apprentice Graduate Award, for apprentices who “made outstanding contributions to their workplace,” to two winners this year for the first time since the award was started in 2016. The recipients included graduates Ryan McCarthy and Pedro Gonzalez.

McCarthy was honored for leading and contributing to initiatives around food insecurity within the Charlottesville area, working to help create the “Cville Tool Library,” an organization dedicated to sharing tools and learning to use them properly, as well as excelling in the classroom by finishing classes a year early and pursuing additional certifications.

Gonzalez was recognized for participating in voluntary English language conversational skills tutoring and the UVA Edge program in addition to his trades classes. He also participated in a 2021 team designed to reimagine FM's mission statement and volunteered on several occasions to visit local high schools and help host branches of the Central Virginia Boys and Girls Club for trades exposure and education.

A total of 244 tradespeople have graduated from the Apprenticeship Program since its inception in 1982. With this year's graduation of three female apprentices — Ashley Bell, Rebecca Hord and Ryan McCarthy — UVA has now had 20 women complete the program.

See photos from the 2023 Apprenticeship graduation and the event's program for remarks shared by each graduate.

Class of 2022 Graduation Celebration

The UVA Apprenticeship Program celebrated the graduation of 11 employees during a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 26.

“Congratulations to all of the 2022 graduates and to all of Facilities Management for operating a program like this and the vision to create it,” UVA Senior Vice President for Operations and State Government Relations Colette Sheehy said during the ceremony. The program, which was founded in 1982, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The graduating Class of 2022 included the following individuals:

• Electrical: Brittany Collier, Cameron Sellers and Jalisa Stinnie.
• HVAC: Trevor Herring, Benjamin Melugin, James Simmons, James “Matthew” Taylor, Jonathon Taylor and Rene Teran Vazquez.
• Plumbing: Zouzek Abdalhusain and Tim Simonin.

Electrical graduates Brittany Collier and Jalisa Stinnie are the 16th and 17th women to graduate from the program, Sheehy noted in her speech. In addition, Stinnie is the first woman of color to graduate from the electrical apprenticeship in the program's history.

“The apprenticeship program gave me the opportunity to start a new career. I learn something new every day. I get to do something that not everybody can do,” Stinnie shared in written remarks included in the event program.

In addition to Sheehy, speakers included Utilities Supervisor and 2019 Apprenticeship graduate Marcus Klaton and Virginia Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Gary Pan, who shared a recorded video message.

“The [apprenticeship program] model is proven to provide highly-skilled workers to meet the demands of employers in the global economy,” Pan said in the video. “Your commitment to your apprenticeship program and learning your trade is truly deserving of recognition.”

See photos from the Apprenticeship graduation and the event's program for remarks shared by each graduate.

Apprenticeship Alum Retires After 45 Years of Service

Class of 2021 Apprenticeship Program graduation

Graduates were honored during a November 10 ceremony

Earlier this month, nine apprentices were honored for graduating from the UVA Apprenticeship Program. The 2021 graduating class is comprised of nine skilled tradespeople who have developed and demonstrated proficiency in their chosen trade while also rising to meet challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we should really pause and double, triple, quadruple-congratulate you all because…this is a hard enough program as it is, but you did it in the midst of a pandemic,” Senior Vice President for Operations and State Government Relations Colette Sheehy told the graduates during the small November 10 ceremony.

As of 2021, more than 200 individuals have graduated from the UVA Apprenticeship Program since its creation in 1982. Other speakers during the ceremony included Trish Morrison, director of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry's Division of Registered Apprenticeship; AVP/CFO Don Sundgren; Occupational Programs Director Laura Duckworth; and 2019 UVA Apprenticeship Program graduate Marcus Klaton, who served as master of ceremonies.

This year's graduates included:

• Timothy Griffith, electrical
• Nathan Henderson, electrical
• Trevor Martin (recipient of the 2021 Ed Ford Award), HVAC
• Markel Randolph, HVAC
• Matthew Wood, HVAC
• Stephen Allen, plumbing
• Luke Henry, plumbing
• Jacob Tolbert, plumbing
• Donita Wagley, plumbing

Trevor Martin was the 2021 recipient of the Ed Ford Outstanding Apprenticeship Graduate Award, which honors one outstanding UVA graduating apprentice each year. The award — which was established in 2016 by Kathleen Ford to honor the memory of her father, Edward R. Ford — celebrates and recognizes an apprentice's outstanding contributions to their workplace and acknowledges their exceptional progress in their academic studies and professional skills development.

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Derek Leake is a 2018 UVA Apprenticeship Program graduate and currently an HVAC Mechanic in Zone 2 of the UVA Facilities Management Health System Physical Plant. He started his apprenticeship outside of UVA before joining the program as a second year. He was attracted to UVA due to the benefits and security the job provided, as well as the opportunities and education the Apprenticeship Program offered. In addition to technical training, Derek credits his time at UVA for providing him with professional skills — people skills and customer service — and for an inside look at how a large organization functions.

Derek says he “sort of fell into” HVAC work after high school: As a high school graduate, he was unsure of his career options. He took classes at CATEC and worked as an HVAC helper for a local repairer and installer. Since then, HVAC work has become his career at UVA. In his role as an HVAC mechanic, Derek has had the opportunity to train current UVA apprentices and having now experienced both sides of the program — trainer and trainee — Derek discovered his passion for being an educator. He has accepted an offer to become the Greene County Public Schools HVAC Instructor and starts later this summer.

While we are sad to see him go as a mechanic and trainer, we are thrilled for this next step in his career. He is excited to be training the next generation of the workforce. Derek says, “They may not have all of the knowledge after two years of high school classes, but they will definitely have a head start on a career.” Derek is a Greene County native and is passionate about seeing the excitement and growth of knowledge as students learn. Particularly as they learn necessary skills in order to be a valuable employee right out of high school.

UVA FM Apprenticeship is always proud to see our graduates grow and excel, even if sometimes that mean a move away from UVA. Not only are we building the future of skilled trades, we are providing resources for individuals to become leaders, find their passion, and empower others.

Tyler Cameron, plumber in Health System Physical Plant Zone 1, was recently honored as a 2020 Outstanding Apprentice by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

Cameron graduated from the UVA Apprenticeship Program in 2020 and recently passed the state exam for his journey-level license. He was selected for his exceptional performance on the job, strong work ethic and leadership skills. In addition to maintaining an A average throughout all years of his classroom education, he has also been awarded outstanding performance awards through UVA Health, recognized as a Facilities Management Safety Champion due to his conduct after tracing and assisting in the neutralization of a natural gas leak and was selected as the UVA Apprenticeship Program's Class of 2020 Ed Ford Outstanding Apprentice Award recipient.

Cameron's strong communication skills and desire to learn have earned him a reputation as a superb team player both within the group of plumbers he supports, but also within other trade groups. He often supports communications between various trade groups working together on a project, ensuring that all groups are on the same page so work is completed smoothly and without delay.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry's Division of Registered Apprenticeship recognizes apprentices each year who have excelled during their apprenticeships in the areas of accuracy and efficiency, cooperation with supervisors and journeymen, initiative, leadership, decision-making ability, and outstanding accomplishments. Program sponsors nominate apprentices for this recognition who either completed or will complete their Apprenticeship Program during the current calendar year.

View the virtual awards ceremony

We are excited for your future here at UVA Facilities Management!

February 6, 2020

Congratulations to HVAC Apprentices (pictured) Ashley Bell (1st year), Matt Wood (3rd year), and Blake Shifflett (1st year) who all earned CFC Universal Certifications, meaning they received passing scores on tests for CFC Certification Types 1, 2, and 3.

Also deserving of recognition is Matt Taylor (2nd year), who earned Type 1 and 2 certifications, and Jonathan Taylor (2nd year) and Pedro Gonzales (1st year), who both earned Type 1 certifications.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are man-made chemical refrigerants that eat away at the Earth's ozone layer if they enter the atmosphere. Tradespeople that work on or repair equipment that could vent CFCs into the air need a variety of CFC certifications.

Chris Hall, a June 2019 graduate of the UVA Apprenticeship Program, was honored on November 15th, 2019 by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry as one of the commonwealth's Outstanding Apprentices. Chris was selected by the Virginia Registered Apprenticeship Awards Committee because not only did he excel in classroom instruction — achieving and maintaining an A average — His work as an HVAC apprentice remained consistent and efficient throughout his training. Supervisors and on-the-job trainers during his rotations commented that Chris was a key contributor to work completed with HVAC controls. Chris's supervisors took note of his grasp of HVAC mechanics and troubleshooting abilities - traits that are highly coveted by both supervisors and journeymen alike. Chris has an uncanny ability to diagnose a complex or advanced HVAC problems. Since graduating, Chris has achieved his journeyman licensure and continues his career at UVA as an HVAC Mechanic in the Health System Physical Plant. UVA FM is proud to have Chris on board and we look forward to everything he will bring as a licensed journeyman.

DOLI's Division of Registered Apprenticeship recognizes apprentices each year who have excelled during their apprenticeships in the areas of accuracy and efficiency, cooperation with supervisors and journeymen, initiative, leadership, decision-making ability, and outstanding accomplishments. Program sponsors nominate apprentices for this recognition who either completed or will complete their Apprenticeship Program during the current calendar year.

Recently, the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women's Center at the University of Virginia received funding for the creation and installation of a mosaic to be put in their newly-renovated space. The "Stronger at the Broken Places" mosaic wall was designed by a current UVA student and the first portion of the mosaic will be installed over the course of several weeks this spring using volunteers from across the UVA community.

Owing to the volunteer-driven nature of this project, as well as the technical skills and experience needed to measure and operate tile-cutting equipment, the Women's Center staff reached out to UVA Facilities Management to see if FM employees would be available to help with cutting the tile to be used for the mosaic. The pre-cut tile will save a significant amount of time and will allow volunteers to begin immediate assembly of the mosaic.

UVA FM Occupational Programs Director Laura Duckworth recognized this as an opportunity for the FM tradeswomen to jump in and help. Due to the intricate nature of the tile-cutting needed, this task was not suited for a large group of volunteers (unlike FM's Empowering You Toolbox Workshops). Anne Lassere, a UVA FM Carpenter Apprentice, and Chelsea Short, a UVA FM Electrician, got to work on cutting the ceramic tile. Anne & Chelsea spent two days, totaling 12-14 hours, and were able to cut about 95 percent of the tiles that the Women's Center needed done.

United Rentals generously donated the use of a tile saw for the two days of work at no cost. Their donation and their continued support of the community, as well as the Apprenticeship Program, is greatly appreciated.

Find out more about FM tradeswomen and/or the UVA FM Apprenticeship Program by emailing fm-apprenticeship@virginia.edu.