As a child, my dream career was to be an architect. My interest then shifted somewhat, and I really wanted to go to school for smart homes/building automation right after high school because it was a skilled trade that was different from the others and still very technologically involved, that interest unfortunately faded away as life happened because I didn’t have the resources to go to college. I ended up working to survive and years later, I came to NCST knowing I wanted to learn the trade of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
I really enjoyed all the hands-on training in the HVAC lab the most throughout my program. It was great to go over and get to work on the equipment that we were learning about. I was also given the opportunity by our instructor, Mr. Wendell Keyser to design another Make Table for the lab and lead the construction and assembly process. A Make Table is a restaurant prep table where the bottom compartments are refrigerated. Each refrigerated compartment on our table has its own dedicated system cooling it so that multiple students can work on the table at once. It was really cool –no pun intended!!, to see my creation come to life, piece by piece, and it gave me the opportunity to teach my classmates some carpentry skills.
NCST has helped me start a career with Johnson Controls, one of the largest building automation companies in the world. I recently accepted an offer from Johnson Controls to be hired on as an HVAC Controls Technician. I will be troubleshooting and programming automated HVAC controls for large commercial buildings such as hospitals and universities. I never thought this is where I was going to end up when I first walked through the doors of NCST, but with the help of my instructors and career services at NCST, my childhood dream was once again a reality.
I live with two cats, Patchy and Fuzzy, and four dogs, Betty White, Mae, Ralphie, and Ellie. I have an older brother, Kenny, who has Down Syndrome and he means the world to me. I’m really into woodworking and just enjoy being crafty in general.
It may seem scary and difficult at first, but NCST makes it easy to learn a trade. You’re not alone either! You’ll have classmates who are in the same position as you and you’ll be able to help each other throughout your program. I don’t know where I’d be without my fellow classmates. They became like family.
– Ryan Manthe, New Castle School of Trades HVAC Graduate