Clairemont High Grad Wins Associated Builders & Contractors Apprenticeship Scholarship

Maurilio De Los Santos with ABCSD Apprenticeship
Training Trust Executive Director Sherry Yarbrough.

A panel of construction professionals and educators selected five outstanding San Diego County high school graduates, including senior Maurilio De Los Santos of Clairemont High School, to launch their careers in the construction industry thanks to scholarships awarded by the Associated Builders and Contractors San Diego Apprenticeship Training Trust. Recipients say the scholarships will play a significant role in helping them achieve their career goals. in San Diego was one of them.

Scholarship recipients become apprentices, which means the student is a full-time employee with benefits. De Los Santos will immediately start earning a paycheck and benefits. If he sticks with the program, he will become a full-fledged journeyman with not a shred of college debt and a fine career path ahead of him.

De Los Santos will begin his electrical career with Bergelectric. He must first complete a 30-day pre-apprenticeship program starting immediately after high school graduation. He will officially become an apprentice and begin his formal education on the job and in the classroom. 

Apprentices combine on-the-job training working under the supervision of a skilled craftsperson with
formal education through ABC’s Apprenticeship Training Trust program, where students learn the technical side and the theory of their craft. All tuition costs are covered. As part of the scholarship, students who are selected also receive a basic set of tools for their trade, work boots, all technical manuals, codebooks and classroom textbooks throughout the apprenticeship at no cost, a value of several thousand dollars.

The new apprentices will begin their education at the ABC Apprenticeship Training Academy in September.

“The high quality of this year’s applicants made it a difficult choice for the selection committee,” said
Rick Amison, Human Resource Director for Pacific Rim Mechanical. “The process renewed my faith in
the ability of a talented new generation to move our industry forward. These five young men were the
best of the best and we are confident that with ABC San Diego’s support, they will become outstanding
construction professionals and be an asset to our industry.

In the essay he submitted in his application, De Los Santos described growing up in a poor family, watching his father take odd jobs to help make ends meet. With academic strength in math, he thought taking a construction technology class would be “easy” but quickly learned otherwise, putting all his skills to work. In his junior year, he took on the responsibility leading a class of seniors building owl boxes for an environmental project. “It was this experience that made me realize I had the potential to be a leader… I believe I have the talent and determination to excel in the construction industry. It is my hope, if given a chance, that I will pursue a career as an electrician and have a great future.”

Applications are now being accepted for the 2014 ABC Apprenticeship Scholarship Program. It is open
to any high school senior currently enrolled in a construction class or training program in San Diego
County. For more information about the ABC San Diego Apprenticeship Training Trust Scholarship
Program, and to download an application, visit http://www.abcsd.org