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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

2023's apprenticeship program graduates display their certificates 2023's apprenticeship program graduates display their certificates
UVA Apprenticeship Program Class of 2022 graduates included, from left, Rene Teran Vazquez, James “Matthew” Taylor, James Simmons, Tim Simonin, Brittany Collier, Zouzek Abdalhusain and Benjamin Melugin. (Graduates unavailable for the photo included Cameron Sellers, Jalisa Stinnie, Trevor Herring and Jonathon Taylor.)

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.