Page 45 - Stuff Made and Built in Delaware 2020

OMAR BROOKS-ALEXANDER
Omar Brooks-Alexander had loved working in his school’s workshop since freshman year and wanted to somehow integrate that into his future career.
“In my senior year, I went into school thinking, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do,’” he says.
He did know he didn't want to further strain his body playing sports, so Brooks-Alexander opted to pursue a career in manufacturing. With the help of some faculty members at Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, the newly graduated senior was able to achieve that through a co-op program with HYTORC, an industrial equipment supplier.
Here, Brooks-Alexander would hone his attention to detail and work on various tasks like maintenance of tools, cleaning up, and learning how to use tools.
“These tools are made for larger industrial things. Homeowners can use them if they have a large enough project for it, but it’s not recommended,” says Brooks-Alexander. He further explains that the tools he works with are “used on bridges, power plants, [and] anything above 1,000 pounds of pressure.”
Through his co-op program, where he worked two weeks and then took two weeks off, Brooks-Alexander earned between $3,500 and $6,000 a year. In addition to a growing wallet, he enjoyed the work environment, as it “didn’t feel like [he] was in a classroom” but rather in a genuine workplace where he could “get the satisfaction of helping other companies [get]
the job done.”
To those uncertain whether the trades are really right for them, Brooks-Alexander offers the suggestion that you’ll never know if you don’t go for it: “I
would say just try it out, even if you don’t know what it is.
You might like it.”
“I would say just try it
“I would say just try it
out, even if you don’t
out, even if you don’t
know what it is. You
know what it is. You
might like it.”
might like it.”
— OMAR BROOKS-ALEXANDER
S4 STUFF | DelawareBusinessTimes.com