Spotlight on WECA Class of 2020 Southern California Commercial Electrical Apprenticship Valedictorian Michael Finner

After leaving the military in 2013 with “no exit plan and no college education,” Finner decided to use some of his GI Bill to attend an Electrician Trainee program and get his foot in the door. Finner initially attended Wyotech in Fremont, CA and got a year of job experience under his belt, which enabled him to be hired by Bergelectric—whom he still works for today—and indentured into his Commercial Apprenticeship with WECA in 2015.

“Everything began to fall into place then,” says Finner. “Wyotech used the same books as WECA, but WECA was superior in explaining the material we covered in class, and the labs were more organized and challenging.” Finner continues, stating that “completing my education through WECA has opened up a lot of doors for me. I’m not just an electrician…I am also a certified journeyman that has completed a state-approved apprenticeship program.”

“The last five years gave me the opportunity to work with many different types of materials and tools, and with lots of different people,” says Finner. “Knowing how to work with difficult people is sometimes as important as knowing your trade”.

Finner says that “my wife and children [contributed to my success at WECA and in my career]…I struggled a lot during my Apprenticeship with whether or not I wanted to continue with the program. Every time I prayed about it or discussed it with my family and friends, the answer remained the same, so I was on the right path.”

And Finner says to current and future students: “If you chose this Apprenticeship over a college education, you made a wise decision. You will seriously doubt it at times, but if you can grind it out and finish the Apprenticeship, you’ll have an education and a skillset you can take anywhere in the world. If you [do end up] wanting a college education, you'll be able to afford it after completing the Apprenticeship without going into massive amounts of student loan debt.” (Editor's note: WECA's Commercial and Residential Electrical Apprenticeships have credit recommendations from the National College Credit Recommendation Service, and graduates may be able to transfer significant credits from their program completion at WECA to many universities.)

Finner continued, thanking Maria (his wife) “for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” “Mr. Ranger Rick, thanks for everything you taught us…and for the donuts,” and “Dom, Jon, Devon, and Sean for making me work harder. Without you guys, I don’t know that I’d be in this spotlight.”