“I found where I belong, right here!” said a young man as soon as he spotted the Diesel/Heavy Duty Equipment program at SCC’s Trades Discovery Day. 16 of the college’s trades programs, from cosmetology to welding to fire science, convened in the gymnasium to offer the public a chance to take the first steps toward a new line of work.

While some attendees knew exactly what program they wanted to take, many more were exploring and finding out about programs for the first time. In addition to featuring faculty from each program, Trades Day offered the opportunity to ask questions of current students, who don’t shy away from the pros and cons of their area of study.

Daryn Ho and Mano Funderburg, both Electronics Technology students, discovered their program at previous Trades Days. “Electronics is a good foundation if you like science and math but maybe you don’t know specifically what you want to do,” said Funderberg. “We study a wide range of things, including coding. You have to know how to software works to know how the hardware works.” Funderberg added, “One of the best things here is the faculty are all connected to people in the industry so it’s pretty common to get connected with a job or employer before you graduate.”

Ho plans to apply his electronics studies to maintaining film and video equipment. “I love everything around design and color,” he said. “Electronics is a big part of photography, and it’s great to be able to connect electronics to design.”

In addition to speaking with current students and faculty, attendees got the chance to go in-depth with two programs, participating in a hands-on activity and getting a feel for the classroom and lab spaces. Attendees who visited the Architecture program even found themselves doing 3D modeling just a few minutes after sitting down.
“We use AutoCAD here, but we also use SketchUp, which you can use to start modeling really fast,” Architecture Instructor David Edwards told his group of curious attendees. Soon, each was examining 3D objects they had created on the screen.

Trades Discovery Day is mostly attended by current high school students getting ready for their move into higher education and the working world, but is open to anyone thinking about training for a new profession. In addition to SCC’s fall Trades Discovery Day, the college hosts a similar event each spring focusing on enrollment in programs that start in the summer and fall.