At a time when recent graduates are scrambling for jobs and struggling under massive debt, 21-year-old Jesse Bolt is all set.
The Washington Township resident recently graduated from Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in carpentry with some high honors, prestigious awards, no debt and a great job all lined up.
In June, Bolt topped off his education with his biggest award to date — No. 1 Carpenter in the Country. He won the title in the post-secondary level at the SkillsUSA national competition in Kansas City, after continuously winning at the local-level, district-level and state-level competitions for his craftsmanship.
“I still really can’t believe it,” Bolt said. “It’s one of my greatest accomplishment so far.”
With many carpenters in the middle of their careers going back to schools to further their qualifications, Bolt said he wasn’t just head-to-head with young men his age, and the competition was stiff.
“There were some guys that have gone back to school who are in their 40s, who have been in the trade their whole lives, and due to the economy, they went back to school and competed,” Bolt said.
It wasn’t just at the skills competition that Bolt stood out either. During his time at Williamson, which is located a mile outside of Media, Pa., he was inducted into the school’s prestigious IVW Club, reserved for the most outstanding students, and last year won the Sons of the American Revolution’s Outstanding Citizenship Award, which goes to the top junior in the school.
“I take pride in what I do,” Bolt said. “I don’t accept poor work for myself, and I’ll keep working at something until I get it just right.”
For Ken Nelson, Bolt’s carpentry instructor, he’s not surprised the young man has accomplished so much in the past few years.
“He embodies the core values of the school,” Nelson said. “His work ethic, his attitude, his professionalism, he’s very dedicated ... He’s a top-notch carpenter.”
And with Nelson having taught seven students in the past 10 years who went on to win the top carpenter in the country title, he knows good carpenters.
“We are very proud of him,” Nelson said.
And Bolt is proud of his school, which he says was the key to any and all of his successes.
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Photo supplied
Jesse Bolt
“All the credit goes to Williamson really. It’s not your average run-of-the-mill school. It’s very, very strict and military based,” Bolt said. All students must wear a jacket, shirt and tie to class, with their shoes shined and face clean-shaven. There’s zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol, and all students must live in a school-supervised dormitory on campus.
For all of their discipline and hard work, however, every student is rewarded with a full scholarship covering tuition, room, board and textbooks. It’s difficult to gain entrance, with the school only accepting 100 students per year, about 25 percent of its applicants. Entrance into the carpentry program — the school’s most popular — is even more competitive.
“It builds great character and work ethic,” Bolt said. “It was difficult, but I looked at what I could have. I was seeing these seniors graduate with great jobs and I wasn’t going to chance losing everything. Without the school, I don’t know where I’d be.”
The school’s reputation pays off for its graduates, as Bolt found out when he applied for the job he’ll be starting soon, at one of the largest general contracting companies in the country.
“I interviewed with 10 other people that were coming out of four-year engineering schools. I’m coming out of this trade school, and I ended up getting the job,” Bolt said, adding that he’s excited to get started on his career right away.
“I graduated with a job, which not many people can say, and with a great job at that,” Bolt said.
His instructor, Nelson, said that post-graduate job placement isn’t guaranteed at Williamson, but in his entire time there he has never seen a student not offered a job upon graduating, and he’s glad to see that Bolt has snagged such prestigious employment.
“He’s well on his way to a great career,” Nelson said.
It’s a future that, back when he was a student at Washington Township High School, Bolt didn’t even know he could have.
He knew he loved carpentry, especially after a mission trip to Biloxi, Miss., sparked a passion for woodworking, and that he wasn’t meant for a desk job. But he didn’t know how to make that a career.
“Woodshop and gym were the only classes I cared about. I never had an interest in going to college because I didn’t know trade schools like Williamson were out there. I was just planning on going to work for some general contractor in town,” Bolt said.
Just to see what else was out there, his mother had him attend the high school’s college fair, where he asked around about possible construction technology programs or anything similar. He was coming up empty-handed until he started talking to a retired counselor from Eastern University, which is abo