Over the years, WECA Southern California Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship Class of 2026 Valedictorian Ricardo Perez, who works for WECA Member Contractor Western Electrical Contracting, Inc., explored various construction disciplines ranging from plumbing to concrete work. Electrical work, however, excited him the most. 

“I was lucky enough to do some really cool projects that made me want to dive deep into the electrical field,” said Ricardo.  

Ricardo continued to work on cool projects throughout his WECA apprenticeship, with his favorite being working on pumphouses alongside Caltrans.  

“I was lucky enough to do a full refresh for a pumphouse in Anaheim, where we replaced entire controls sections and piped new runs to bring power into the pump house, and piped power to the pumps 80 to 100 feet into the ground. It was a lot of threading and cutting pipe, bending pipe, core drilling, suspended work, and working with a great group of guys that made every day worth being on site. I always said I was getting paid to hang out with my buddies and do electrical work,” said Ricardo.  

In the classroom, Ricardo rigorously applied himself and reported that he had to “become better at learning” and “remembering the code book” and “become better at being a code-driven worker.” 

“I was never great at retaining information when I was in school,” said Ricardo, “but with my time with WECA I was having to relearn how to do exactly that. I’m not old, but I’m not young, and I had to deal with the fact that there was always someone younger than me with those abilities to retain and understand our processes as electricians. I had to become the best or better version of myself to keep up with the new generation.”  

Ricardo enjoyed his time with WECA despite the challenges and stated that his instructors were “great” and that the whole process of learning with them made him feel confident in what he was learning and in his abilities as an electrician.  

Ricardo’s success at WECA was due to the support he received from his cousin, Omar, and his family. Omar helped Ricardo get placed in the WECA Southern California Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship Program and sponsored him during his apprenticeship. Ricardo’s family also motivated him to keep pushing forward during his apprenticeship. 

“If not for them, I don’t think I would have been motivated to complete this journey alone,” said Ricardo. 

Congratulations, Ricardo, on your graduation and on being Valedictorian of your class! Your hard work and dedication have paid off and will continue to carry you far in your career, whether with Caltrans or elsewhere.