Driving in a Dodge Ram at the crack of dawn, Adolfo C. makes his way to his first job at Excell Electric after graduating just a few weeks ago from Bryan Adams High School.
He credits owning the Dodge – his second car – to having the opportunity to explore his talents with the company as an intern.
“The pay at my age was really good. I saved money to buy school supplies and even managed to buy a truck,” Adolfo said. “I’m only 17, and the fact that I have all this is incredible. I just work hard for what I need.”
A graduate of the electrical pathway at Career Institute East, he is one of several Dallas ISD students who interned at Excell, under Ryan Gamino.
As part of the summer program, interns learn crucial on-site skills, like safety training, being on call with their assigned journeyman, and working on projects for commercial buildings in the area.
“Ryan does not know how to say no. Whatever we need, they provide,” said Becky Barker, academic coordinator at CI East. “From donating over $6,000 worth of tools and equipment to hiring interns and volunteering as judges for school events, Ryan and Excell Electric have been indispensable partners.”
Barker discovered Gamino via cold call a few years ago. She says students greatly benefit from the partnership since Excell mentors students as if they were their own employees. This year, over a dozen upperclassmen were hired to work with his company.
“They’ve donated forklifts, trailers, and trucks to help move different things. We even had a student who barely made it out of school last year, and now he is closing on a home thanks to his job at Excell,” Barker added.
Amalie C., a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, also interned at Excell Electric. The daughter of an electrician, she found her passion for electrical work early on.
“It’s like a family, everybody helps each other out. I learned how to bend pipes, drive forklifts, and understand high-voltage power,” Amalie said. “I got a different perspective on life and explored Dallas more than before. I want to go to a training school, open my own business, and come back to Career Institute East as a teacher,” Amalie said.
Both Adolfo and Amalie are now full-time employees at Excell Electric, embodying the program’s success and serving as inspirations for future students in the electrical pathway.
