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April 4, 2019Saugerties Resident Earns American Welding Society Scholarship at Capital Region BOCES
It’s not often that an adult quits a job and takes a new one about an hour from home just so they can take an adult education class at a BOCES.
But that is exactly what Tom Resso did when he enrolled last summer in the Capital Region BOCES Adult Welding and Metal Fabrication class. Now the Saugerties, Ulster County resident is being rewarded with a $1,000 American Welding Society scholarship for his dedication and commitment to welding and metal fabrication.
Resso left a job near his home last summer to take a position at Shop Rite in Slingerlands just so he could take the welding class at the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School Albany campus.
“I researched different programs and saw online that the Capital Region BOCES program has a good reputation, so I decided to make some changes so I could enroll,” Resso said.
“I am able to go to work from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and leave there in time for class (which begins at 3 p.m.),” said Resso. “It’s a long day, but it’s worth it.”
Resso is one of 13 students enrolled in the current 10-month, 500-hour program that teaches adults the skills necessary to enter the workforce and the advanced skills sought after by employers. He will graduate in June, having earned the certificates necessary to open doors in the industry where a shortage of workers has, for some businesses, stymied business growth.
“I want to get into a shop and fabricate. I like making stuff,” he said.
For more information on the adult welding program or the multitude of other adult programs, from culinary to barbering, visit: https://www.capitalregionboces.org/adult-education/classes-programs/
