Like a lot of teenagers, Kaleb Diaz had no plan for life after high school. He had a job stocking produce at Publix, figured he’d save up to buy a car and “be very irresponsible with my money.” Less than two years after graduating from St. Cloud High School, Diaz, 20, now works as a welder for a company called Met-Con, prefabricating beams for construction sites. It’s thanks to a certification he earned tuition-free at Valencia College under the county-funded Osceola Prosper program.
Diaz says he started watching welding videos online and thought it looked like fun. “It just clicked with me,” he says. But he didn’t know Valencia had a trade certification program until he started learning about the Osceola Prosper program.
There, he was taught by a 35-year veteran welder. “It’s not easy. But that’s the thing that drives me — when something is not easy it will push me to work harder.”
Diaz was born deaf, which only added to the challenge.
“You need to hear what you’re welding to know that it’s penetrating,” he says, adding there’s a sizzle sound when it’s right. “I watched videos … turning up the volume as high as I can just to hear. I would train myself to look for the key detail, try to hear what’s a good sound and what’s not a good sound.”
“It took me a while to get it.”
Even with the free tuition under Osceola Prosper, earning the certification was difficult. He had to cut back his Publix hours to attend school and found himself broke. He picked up more hours — working closing shifts and then waking up early for class.
As far as welding goes, the money is good and Diaz enjoys the work. College wasn’t a focus for him, he says, but his future is far brighter with the experience and the certification. He’s not sure whether he wants to weld for the rest of his life, but now he’s got the confidence to push himself.
“Looking back at how far I’ve come, I’ve improved a lot, but I still think there’s still a lot more that I need to work on and improve.”