Morgan Lurz.

Morgan Lurz of Berlin took Wor-Wic’s “Electrical Wiring Technician: Introduction” course, a stepping stone to an electrical apprenticeship, and is now a journeyman electrician for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Lurz said that before taking the course, he was working as a stocker at a local grocery store. “My current job is a far better improvement over that,” he said. “This is a career. I took two classes in an actual classroom and the rest was the apprenticeship – on-the-job learning. The hands-on learning in the classroom was good, and the instructors were great. It was really fantastic to be able to get paid to learn on the job.”

Lurz said that his instructor, George Landing, taught them from the code book, and “a lot of the job is learning the code book. George went over theory and the other instructor showed us how to troubleshoot. Those two classes prepared me for the apprenticeship. George is a Maryland state inspector, so he knows all the owners of the electric companies on the shore. He and his brother were part of IBEW and that’s the first place he referred me to for the apprenticeship job.”

Lurz said that with the five-year apprenticeship, he now has several years on the job and that IBEW sends him out on different contracts. Currently he is working on a job at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy. “I am happy with what I’m doing now. With this career, you’re always learning. You can even travel for work. Several local guys went out to Las Vegas and worked on the scoreboard at the new Raiders stadium.”

Lurz’s mother wrote to thank Wor-Wic after he completed his apprenticeship. “Your ‘trades’ class was the perfect transition from Morgan’s homeschool education to more traditional in-class learning,” she wrote. “Community colleges are the perfect (and sometimes overlooked) opportunity to test the career waters. We are so happy Morgan found a career he enjoys and will carry him through his life.”