People engaged in the trades make a lasting and meaningful impact on society.

By Jim Carrillo

Jim Carrillo

During my senior year of high school, my counselor convinced me to study engineering instead of going into the trades. I studied electrical, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, and I thought that if you could be an engineer, you could definitely be competent in any of the trades. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Students were graduating with degrees in Electrical Engineering who didn’t know how to change an electrical outlet. Mechanical Engineers were clueless if their car’s fan belt required changing.

I studied very hard to learn a really simple lesson: the trades are not an alternative to college, they are a career path with equal but different levels of complexity.

Darren Dean

The importance of the trades is evident in every aspect of our community. As a member of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, I’m proud to be part of honoring those who will play a pivotal role in creating a better life for our community through skilled labor.  Skilled labor refers to workers who perform hands-on work and possess abilities, training and safety-minded expertise within their industry. They bring proven experience and knowledge to job sites and construction businesses.

People engaged in the trades make a lasting and meaningful impact on society. They create homes for our families, structures for our profession, and transform the ordinary into the magical. The Rotary Club of Morgan Hill is honored to create a program to assist members of the community in their endeavor to be a part of this critical profession.

At times, members of this skilled labor community demonstrate that the trades as a whole are a necessary component of our lives. One such person was Darren Dean, a local Morgan Hill painting contractor who bridged the gaps between his profession, community service, and community leader.

Darren was an entrepreneur who ran a successful business and managed to figure out just the right work-life balance. In his far too short of a life, he touched so many in Morgan Hill. Darren served as a mentor to many around him, providing opportunities for change in their life, and the lives of those around them.

From the traditional trades like construction, to those that equally impact others, like music, cosmetology, and culinary arts, Darren inspired many to pursue their passion.

In honor of Darren Dean, the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill has created the Darren Dean Vocational Education Grant.

The Darren Dean Vocational Education Grant offers financial support to individuals seeking a career in the trades, and can be used for education and training, as well as tools and supplies. Individual grants up to $1,000 are available to eligible applicants each year. The Rotary Club of Morgan Hill wants to help eliminate the financial hurdles for those looking to enter this honorable profession, and in doing so, better the community as a whole.

I may have not taken a career in the trades, but I have acquired a small set of skills. I can change an electrical outlet, fix a flat on my car, and unclog a toilet if needed. I was taught most of what I know by my uncle, who himself made a career in the trades.

It’s through the lessons I’ve learned from my uncle, Darren Dean, and many others that without those who devote their careers to learning a skill, we’d be living in the dark. Hopefully through the Darren Dean Grant, the Rotary Club can help others choose the trades as their calling, and create a better community for us all.

Visit the website www.morganhillrotary.org/deangrant for more information on the Darren Dean Vocational Education Grant.

Jim Carrillo is a member of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill. He wrote this for Morgan Hill Life.