Mentor Quote – Ryan

“I think you’d be better off working at a McDonalds then even consider a real job that concerns a degree in anything. I’d even be surprised if you get past the application.”

It was the last two weeks of my Senior year in Highschool. My English teacher, of whom I’ve had since sophomore year, Ms. Lisa had let me stay in her room to finish up my last few assignments of the year. All was fine, I wasn’t to far from finishing up when a sensitive topic from one of my friends was brought up and my teacher started to go off. Started on my friend Danny until I tried taking his side she just started degrading me as a person entirely. Mind you this wasn’t reasonable at all because it had nothing to do with her, she overheard it. But despite everything, words were said that couldn’t be taken back and how I look at it is, if you didn’t really didn’t mean it you wouldn’t of said it. Especially if your a teacher you should have the discipline.

For the most part I don’t let words get to me, I actually could care less of what people think or say to me. But in this instance I don’t know what it was but it made me go home and take a step back. See what I’ve actually done, if she was right, or was just another miserable person coping. And to be quite honest I hadn’t done much and academically I wasn’t trying my best either, she wasn’t necessarily wrong but noticing that made me realize where I possibly could of ended up could of been not far from true too. Right then and there I had decided to do a quick reset. Start fresh, and I didn’t wait for a new year or the perfect moment. My fresh start was the next morning, where 90% of the things done or said was already forgotten. I will say what I did wasn’t the best start, for the last two weeks of my high school year I didn’t go back to her class but I did meet with another English teacher and handed everything in. I didn’t need any sort of negative thoughts or apology because it already changed me.

For the last two weeks I spent all the time figuring out my plan and also applying for college. I hadn’t planned on going so I didn’t apply but I needed a foundation so I applied that week. Later that week I had also came to the realization that I was looking to deep into it, I was looking so far when what I needed was right in front of me. My dad is a self employed general contractor, he was the one who made me who I am today. I wouldn’t be as creative, curious, hands on or hard working if it wasn’t for him. Every summer I always used to go to work with him and learn the job but its now that I realize I can learn it, manage it and grow it. And that’s exactly what I decided to do. As of right now I am in civil engineering, this is to become a construction manager so I can learn to manage job sites. Since its at the point of managing and growing. It also helps I’ve been working with him awhile to the point I know clients, I know workers and I know how to actually do the job. The best leaders were players at a point. You cant expect to know the solutions to the unexpected errors or miscommunication if all you did was read about it and never experienced it. So that’s why as I’m going to school I am also continuing to work with him and after my first year I will look for internships into bigger company’s to learn to take mine to the next level from residential to commercial. But to do that you need the commercial experience which is why I will work with those companies during my stay at college or maybe even a bit after to learn as much as I can to apply it.