Scholarship Provides Students With Tools of the Trade

If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning,

I’d hammer in the evening, all over this land. . . .

--Pete Seeger and Lee Hays

Since Maria Molina’s father first showed her how to remove an engine from a car, the 21-year-old Los Angeles Trade-Technical College student says she has known she was destined to be an auto mechanic.

The South-Central Los Angeles woman has excelled in her classes and already has a job lined up after she graduates. But her greatest challenge throughout her schooling and in planning for her career was making sure she had the right tools.

Not metaphorical ones. But actual equipment, such as a socket set, wrenches and a roll-away cart.

“During school, I was always borrowing tools from friends,” she said.

To ensure that Molina and 25 other L.A. Trade-Tech students had what they needed to pursue their careers, the Miller Brewing Co.’s “Tools for Success” scholarship has awarded each of them thousands of dollars in equipment. The awards were announced Wednesday at a breakfast at the college.

“Trade school graduates spend an average of a year to a year-and-a-half raising the money to get the tools they need to get the jobs that they trained for,” said Victor Franco, community affairs manager at Miller. “What a waste of talent.”

The scholarships were awarded to the top students in 17 technical fields, ranging from fashion design to construction.

Leslie Bradley, 36, of the San Fernando Valley, who overcame an eating disorder, drug addiction and an abusive marriage before entering the culinary arts program, is planning to use the utensils she was awarded to start a catering business.

Cosmetology student Charleston Wilson, 37, who lives in the Mid-Wilshire area, says he was ecstatic when he learned that he had won new styling irons, clippers, scissors and dryers. “This is a big boost for me,” Wilson said. “I really feel privileged.”