\u201cMy teacher, Mr. Filler was talking to me about what type of electives I could take,\u201d she said. \u201cHe talked about nursing, fire fighting and emergency technicians, but those weren\u2019t really me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Then he told her about welding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe said \u2018Basically you\u2019ll be playing with fire,\u2019 and I said \u2018That sounds awesome!\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From the first class, De La Cruz was hooked and fell in love with welding. That elective led her to pursue dual enrollment her senior year in order to earn an industry certification through Fort Myers Technical College.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The welding technology class at Fort Myers Technical College provides a fast-paced, high heat learning environment for its students. De La Cruz was the class\u2019s only female welding student.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In May, she became Lee County\u2019s first female student to receive an American Welding Society certification and recently started her full-time career as a welder with\u00a0Direct Industrial Products and Machining in LaBelle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWomen are better welders,\u201d said Michael Landrum, welding instructor at FMTC. \u201cThey have the three things that all my students need to succeed: patience, attention to detail and focus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When Brent Kettler, executive director with the\u00a0Hendry County Economic Development Council and a member of the FutureMakers Coalition<\/a>, learned of De La Cruz\u2019s certification, he reached out to Mark Chapman,\u00a0president of Direct to tell him about her accomplishments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Direct is an industrial\u00a0construction supply store and fabrication\/machine\u00a0shop that has partnered with the FutureMakers Coalition in the past on\u00a0student mentoring. Chapman offered De La Cruz a position with his company the day of her interview.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJanet is another example of how workforce development is a win-win for our community,\u201d said Chapman. \u201cWe, like many other businesses in Hendry County, are in constant need of qualified workers for hard-to-fill trades positions. When business and education come together, not only are we paving the future for that student, we are providing them with the proper tools to work in the industry that they strive to do well in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a great example of how the FutureMakers Coalition\u2019s effort to connect education and business to transform the workforce is working,\u201d said Kettler. \u201cBusiness education partnerships are the key to filling in-demand jobs, improving the economy and creating social mobility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOften times students will get a certification or degree but then don\u2019t know where to turn to get a job,\u201d De La Cruz added. \u201cFMTC was so great because our instructor would bring businesses into the school to talk to us and tell us about career opportunities. It was really helpful for a student like me who wanted to go to work as soon as I finished school.<\/span><\/p>\n The FutureMakers Coalition\u2019s goal is to transform our workforce by increasing the number of Southwest Florida residents with degrees, certificates and other high-quality credentials by the year 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n The Southwest Florida Community Foundation serves as the anchor organization for the Coalition. The FutureMakers Coalition encourages residents to join and support this community-changing initiative. For more information, visit\u00a0www.futuremakerscoalition.com<\/a>, call 239-274-5900 or email Tessa LeSage at\u00a0TLeSage@floridacommunity.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VIDEO:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/image003-169x300.jpg\")
Her career would take a drastic turn as a student at East Lee County High School, once again thanks to a teacher.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n