ALLEN COUNTY, Ohio (WLIO) - A Lima Central Catholic senior who got the welding bug young is our February OhioMeansJobs Student Employee of the Month! Meet Avi Sorrels.
Avi Sorrels is a senior at Lima Central Catholic and attends the Welding and Fabrication program at Apollo Career Center. He is currently interning at Lima Sheet Metal and says he is enjoying learning on the job.
"Just now learning and stuff. I did start welding a little better yesterday. A guy there, he taught me a little, somewhat, how to do ovals and things like that. (nat pop) There was a program for career day at my old elementary school, and I did the welding simulation, and since then I just wanted to do it," said Avi Sorrels, OhioMeansJobs February Student Employee of the Month.
Lima Central Catholic's school counselor, Jessica Gronas, says she nominated Sorrels for the recognition because of his work ethic.
"Avi is one of the hardest workers. He has always held a job outside of school, and it's so exciting that he's finally in a job that is going to be part of his career in the future," commented Jessica Gronas, LCC school counselor.
OMJ's high school job coaches work with students to find the right fit when looking for a job.
"Once we can nail down their interests, we can start looking at career opportunities in the area. So Avi has already decided to choose Apollo. He was interested in welding, so getting connected with employers in the area and obtaining that employment experience and opportunity was pretty easy from there," said Catherine Neal, OhioMeansJobs high school job coach.
Avi Sorrels is a senior at Lima Central Catholic and attends the Welding and Fabrication program at Apollo Career Center.
Lima Sheet Metal general manager, Steve Emerick, says Sorrels has had a great attitude from the very start of the process.
"When he first put in his application, he came into the office. He presented himself well, and then he made a couple of follow-up phone calls. I thought that was great to show he really had the initiative that he wanted to get a job. So, we had him come in; he already had some welding skills from his time at Apollo. But first, we had to see what kind of employee he was going to be. Now that he has shown he's an employee we can count on to come in, be communicative, and let us know what's going on, now we're letting him start to do some more work," said Steve Emerick, general manager of Lima Sheet Metal.
Sorrels works about 15 to 20 hours a week at Lima Sheet Metal and says he hopes to stay on after graduation.
"Yeh, I think I can stay there a while. I really like it there. A family-owned business, everybody's really nice," said Sorrels.
Congratulations to Avi Sorrels, the February OhioMeansJobs Student Employee of the Month!
