Garrett Broadley - New England Institute of Technology

I've been done with school for a full year now and have been working full-time for around a year and a half, while finishing up the last few general education classes I needed to take. Working full time is the best. I'm glad I can use the knowledge that I learned at school in the real world. I'm doing everything I dreamed of, the amount of fun I'm having fixing things that are broken and making them work again is honestly everything I signed up for. I love to see how much I have grown from being a freshman in Ken Ward's automotive class in high school to now, a 20 year old with my Associate's degree in advanced automotive technology. But the big thing is that I'm still just breaking the surface into this career. My co-worker and boss at work are all mentors to me, they are still teaching me the tricks of the trade and ways to help with my efficiency to help me make sure I am producing my best work in a timely manner. I am insanely grateful for the help this scholarship got me. I'm happy I finished school when I did because covid would have made school such a bad environment, meaning I wouldn't be able to learn the way that best suits me. I have friends in school saying that it's practically back to virtual learning. But being at work where I can continue my education while making money is so much better, but I wouldn't be able to be at the same position if I didn't have any of my schooling. Again, I appreciate what the Workforce Development Scholarship has done for me.