hen you tell somebody what you’re doing with your life, you like to have a little pride about how you spent your working years. I want to be the best that I can be. I want to learn how to do things right and go home happy and proud.

I have a good wife and my family life is very stable. I don’t have a lot of problems that I’m thinking about at work relating back to my home life. I concentrate 100% at work.

Electricity is very mysterious. With everything I’ve learned in twenty-four years, there’s still a lot out there that I don’t know. Why does electricity go to the center of the earth? The flow of electricity is basic, but it’s almost like a miracle. Because you can’t see it you have to be very, very careful.

In the electrical field we have to make sure that things run safely. And it has to look good too. It has to be aesthetically sound; look like someone who knew what they were doing did it well. I can tell right away if somebody knew what they were doing, or not, when I look at their work.

You should also do a job without struggling. If you struggle, it’s because you don’t know what you are doing. If you’re struggling, there’s got to be a better way. Work smarter, not harder. When you know what you’re doing, it will be graceful.

Everybody has to have a purpose. It is very satisfying to be able to take thoughts and make them physical — to be able to build things. It’s nice to be able to get thoughts out of your head, into the physical world, and help people make their lives better and safer. Everything I make has a little bit of me in it. I take it personally, it’s part me. I’ve been doing this since I was 18 years old; it’s a part of me. I live and breathe it now.

Stories from the Field