Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / OneLegUpAlex Media Talks with Paul Iaccarino, The Director of the BUILDING TRADES EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT FUND (recorded 9-10-26)

Transcript

OneLegUpAlex Media Talks with Paul Iaccarino, The Director of the BUILDING TRADES EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT FUND (recorded 9-10-26) · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Well, here at One Look Up Alex Media, you know,
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: we scan the papers and we sort of bring you
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: the articles to life. And right now I've got someone
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: who was featured in the post almost a couple of
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: weeks ago, you know, talk about the Gen Z male
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: work crisis. And I think that's a very important conversation
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: considering that last time I saw him, Paul Acorino, you
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: might be able to correct me on this.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: I believe I saw.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Like 7 million or maybe even more males are out
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: of work right now, which is alarming. But tell us
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: where you're trying to help the males have one leg
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: up on life again and get them.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Back on the workforce. I want to start there with.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Well, what you said might be factual. It is basically
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: not for us. Our program, our apprenticeship program, our work
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: has been growing a lot, especially in recent times over
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: the past few years. We have a five-year apprenticeship program,
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: and I would say that most of our students are
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: Gen Z, and that number has grown over the years.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: And I see why you were called to talk to
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: the New York Post about this, because you are trying
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: to shift the trend around it at the United Surfers
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Workers Union. So talk about the trades that you work
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: with and the union that you're part of and how
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: you help people become employed.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Well, we work with United Service Workers Local 363A, and
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: we train their electricians. I know that this trade in particular,
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: in our program, there's a clear pathway to have a
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: successful career. And, yeah, I mean, our program's been growing.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: We're happy to help anybody that we can.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: And when you talk about this conversation, I mean, how
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: does it– I feel like you're very passionate about it
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: based on what I saw in the paper. So how
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: passionate are you that we reversed this trend? I want
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: to ask you that.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, the skilled labor shortage is a big problem.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: I'm very proud and happy to be a part of
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: addressing that problem. And I mean, just to speak about
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: our growth, we are expanding training into Long Island. We've
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: trained in Brooklyn for well over 30 something years. And
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: now we're working on launching a program here on Long
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Island as well and it's a very exciting, amazing thing
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: to be a part of.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: I'm Paul Iaccarino, the director at the Building Trades Educational
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Benefit Fund.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: And Paul, I have to say this.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: As I was reading that article, I was reminded by
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: something I tell people all the time, which is generations
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: after us are not willing to roll up their sleeves
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: in the general public.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: And so you're.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Finding these dedicated people who are willing to roll up
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: their sleeves. I guess what can they learn and what
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: can people that may not want to get into trades
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: but should be working learn?
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: How do we get people to roll up their sleeves again?
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: I guess, you know, is what I'm feeling is we
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: got to get people to want to roll up their sleeves,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: want to get back to work.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: Well, we do a great job of informing people what's
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: expected of them and what they're entitled to receive on
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: day one. I truly feel that when most Americans see
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: that they have a clear path that could lead to
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: a stable, secure career, you get a skill that you
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: could take anywhere in the world with you and provide
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: for a family or whatever your goals may be. And
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: our group happens to come with outstanding benefits. We have
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: a world-class retirement package, healthcare package, training fund. And it's,
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: it just, I think some of those things are even
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: more important than money. So when you see that we
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: have all of it here, I think there are lots
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: of folks who are interested in doing this and being
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: a part of it. And that is why we're ultimately growing.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: And how can people support the fund, which is obviously
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: helping shape people generations after us?
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry. I just, I missed you for a sec.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: How do we help people support your fund to continue
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: the work you guys are doing?
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, we work with a great group of contractors.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: They don't just contribute and help grow the funds, but
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: their employees are who we are developing and they, they
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: have some really great employees that have been around for
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: a long time that are passing on the job knowledge
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: and these skills to these young folks coming in. It's,
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: it's one beautiful storm altogether.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Now you're a millennial as the post says. So what
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: made you want to start this fund? Did you, you know,
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: grow up in the trades yourself?
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Oh, I did. I did not. And I did not
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: start this fund. This fund has been here longer for me.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: It will be here long after I'm gone. I actually
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: was an accountant before I was doing this. I was
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: working on getting my CPA and I decided, hey, this
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: sounds like more fulfilling. Like I saw something, an opportunity here,
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: not just for myself, but to help others and use
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: the skills that I have better than I was in
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: the field that I was in, even though I was
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: doing okay there too. And yeah, I mean, it's been
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: 10 years. I haven't turned back. I've been working here
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: for 10 years. I've been a director for four. And
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: it's been rewarding and really fulfilling work.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Paul, how do you get these kids off their iPhone
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: to say, hey, come join me? I mean, I feel
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: like everybody's on their phone. Everybody's stuck to it pretty much.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: And I can be a part of that times too.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: But you got 66% of Gen Zers in this fund.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: How do you say, you know what? Get off your
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: phone and start working. What was your message to them?
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: Well, it's not just me. Everybody takes a collective part
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: in it, I would say. But in order to succeed
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: in any trade, you can't be too distracted. Now, you know,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: the cell phones are part of people's everyday lives. And
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: I think we understand that. But I think the young
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: ones who are succeeding, they understand that they can't be distracted.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: So they do what they must to perform at work well.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: They get to class and they do their thing there.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: And they continue to advance. You know, I think you,
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: the more time you spend off the phone, the easier
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: it is to realize that you don't really need it
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: so much.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: What do you think it is that Gen Zers are
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: kind of like, okay, the job market sucks right now
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: and we're not even going to try.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: What, what, what's the mentality behind that?
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Well, I think a lot of young Americans are afraid.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: There is a threat that it, poses some risk but
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: I'm talking about AI but in reality it's something that
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: they're faced with and also they just there's a there's
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: a lot of pressure on young people right now too
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: because you know no matter how much money you may
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: make it might not seem like enough especially at times
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: like these so I think that that is getting some
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: people jaded and afraid and it's preventing them from even
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: taking the first step. And my message to those people
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: would simply be to just take that first step, whatever
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: it is, in the direction that you want to head.
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: And then you may feel more courage to take the
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: next one. You don't have to worry about all the
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: way down the road at this point in your life.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Now, five-year program for you guys. What can people expect
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: when they complete the program? Right into a job or
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: does that take time?
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: Well, they earn while they... I see this all the time.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: You earn while you learn in apprenticeship. You do it
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: from day one. They all have jobs. We're able to
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: train them because they already have jobs. And what we're
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: focused on is developing them and turning them to well-rounded
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: skilled electricians. So as they get better at what they do,
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: they will definitely earn higher salaries. Their benefits packages will
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: get better, especially the retirement one. And they will experience
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: more opportunities to grow, um, whatever avenue they seek. Wow.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: And you know, I see that the age has actually
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: gotten younger since five years ago. So it's now 26
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: years old, which means you're recruiting younger. And does that
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: also mean the willingness is there at a younger age?
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I, I think, um, there are lots of people
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: who have been interested in the trades for a long
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: time and lots of new people who are interested in it.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: I think, uh, Not only are they finding their way
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: to programs like ours easier now because there's more information
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: and folks available to reach, but on the other end,
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: there's also a large push for folks in our industry
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: to educate younger people that this is a perfectly great
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: opportunity for them and may be more fit for them
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: than something else that they had thought about.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: Paul, I also know that the trades are a generational thing,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: like someone's grandfather might have done it, someone's dad might
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: have done it. Do you find lineage come into play
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: when these kids say, I want to continue with my family?
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I think it's clear as day when
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: your father or your grandfather or somebody else, any relative
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: really did it. It doesn't just give you confidence, but
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: you may find it even faster to get to become
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: informed or informed. understand what this is all about. And
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: I definitely think that, you know, people are attracted to
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: who they're associated with.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Now, you partner with the USWU. Are there other unions
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: you're partnering with or just them specifically?
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: No, we work with United Service Workers, Local 363A, very proudly. And,
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: you know, Building Trades Education Fund is is happy to
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: develop all the electricians that join them or work for
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: any contractors affiliated with them.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: All right having government counting to this did you learn
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: more about the field than you did before.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah well that's a very um I mean, that question
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: kind of answers itself, absolutely. It was a new world
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: when I stepped into it, but I felt a sense
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: of belonging. As soon as I got here, I'm a
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: very motivated person, and I really hope that more people
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: like me continue to join, you know, be a part
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: of this industry because there's a lot of good work
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: to do here.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: It might be an obvious question, but I feel like
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: you can see character through work. So how do you
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: see the development of these kids' characters developing As they
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: go through the program in five years, you've noticed that.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. I don't think that if they, you need
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: to develop as a person to develop as any, any
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: type of professional. And we have plenty of time with them,
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: but their sponsors have even more time with them. And
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: as they, you know, spend, we work on that first 10,000 hours,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: they're surrounded by people that will mold them, um, and
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: help them become better people.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: If you're a parents watching this and their kids struggling
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: to find something and they're not even interested in this field,
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: what would the elevator pitch be to parents?
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Say, Hey, get your kids in here. They may not
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: like it now, but in four or five years, they'll
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: like this, this field.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: Well, it doesn't hurt to try. Like I said, sometimes
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: it's not worrying about all the way at the end
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: of the road. It's just about taking the first step
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: and you see how it goes. Everything, for a lot
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: of these folks, especially these, these young Gen Zers that
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: we have, everything in their life is completely reversible. So
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: if they do join this trade or another one program
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: and it doesn't work out for them, then at least
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: they can say that they tried.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Do you see, so we're 250 years young, right? As
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: a country, do you see male fatigue in the, you know,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: not wanting to apply actually hurt America's change to keep forward?
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, do you, don't you think that males working
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: will continue moving this country forward?
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: Yes, I think it's vital. I mean, young, strong men,
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: even regardless of age, really strong minded individuals, leaders, good
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: leaders is what this world needs more of. I'm happy
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: that I can sort of make an impact on that.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: And I do think that there is a fatigue factor
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: for sure that we are in combat with right now.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: A lot of people like me are with. But again,
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: it's about taking one step at a time. And there
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: are lots of factors that weigh into it that we
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: don't really have control over. So we just do our
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: best to help each individual that enters our program.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: Now you were brought on top of the male side,
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: but do you have female electricians that are, that are in? Oh, absolutely.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: Yes. And that, that number is growing as well. I
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: would definitely say that there are far less, uh, females
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: who are interested in, uh, you know, doing the physical
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: regularist work of our electrician, but that doesn't mean there
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: are none. Uh, we're always thrilled when we get women, um,
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: they bring a different flavor. I'll call it into the workforce.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: And it's, it just helps everybody else be better in
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: some way or another. The program has, I would say
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: we graduated and we've gained four or five women in
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: the past two years. Amazing.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: I want to talk about, cause I'm going to air
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: this today on September 10th. We're all sort of gearing
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: up to remember nine 11 and obviously the electricians, the
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: trades unions lost a lot of people on nine 11.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: So what kind of stories can you share about, Because
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: you were mentioning to me off air a couple of
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: stories of those that have fallen and that were part
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: of this union.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Yes, and I have personally heard so many that I
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: don't want to be too specific or quote anybody's circumstance
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: and say something that isn't true. But what I do
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: know is there are many families that were impacted by 9-11.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: And it's a great thing that we could be a
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: part of It's great that we were working before it happened.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: We're very proud New Yorkers and Americans. And, you know, altogether,
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: it's just it's it's an emotional thing. I remember where
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: I was on 9-11, even though I was just a
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: young kid. I'm sure everybody does.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: I was in fifth grade. I don't know about you,
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: but I was in fifth grade at the time.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: I was in second grade. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yes.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: I remember getting off the bus and hearing all about
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: it and then, you know, seeing the hysteria set in basically.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: It was traumatic. But again, it's knowing something like that
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: happened and being a part of something like that in
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: some way, shape or form. It just helps you understand,
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: you know, how precious humanity is and that you want
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: to do anything that you can to help other people out.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: and here in this program and this group that we
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: have here that is definitely shared.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: Let me ask you this, the, um, the graduation from
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: a five-year program, how exciting is that moment when these
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: kids graduate, you know, it's gotta be rewarding.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: We have been having graduation ceremonies for, I don't know,
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: at least 40 years. Um, so far that I can't
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: even track when the first one was, it is, one
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: of my favorite nights of the year. It is a
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: great event and it is kind of just, even though
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: it's one night, it's the culmination of all their hard work.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: It's a significant milestone and everybody is so happy to
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: revel in that. We get lots of guests. It's a very,
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: very great thing that we do.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: And I'm sure you get some amazing progress reports as
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: things go along for them after the program.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: Yes. Yeah. Well, I believe that apprenticeship is a great
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: factor for retention in general. I think that the apprenticeship
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: training model, when you have somebody that put in that
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: much time and effort into developing their skills, not only
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: have they earned a place in the workforce, but they
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: also desire it. They've shown that they desire it. So
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: those two things meet in a great place normally. And
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: I think that retention figures are higher for graduates than
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: people who don't through an apprenticeship program.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: So it's the benefit fund, which means these people get
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: to do this and learn and get paid, as you say,
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: but also not have to pay back into it, I
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: guess you'd say, because it's free.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Where do you want to see it grow? You're only
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: a millennial, right? So you've been doing this and you're
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: a young kid still. So where do you want to
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: see this grow?
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: Right now, we are so busy getting this next center open.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: I don't want to be focused on anything else. You know,
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: it's great to be a part of growth. It's so exciting.
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: And everybody, it's a win, win, win for everybody involved.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: And I'm really excited for our trainees and our apprentices
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: that live out on Long Island because They're going to
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: get to be our first students and help build the
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: culture of the new facility as well. But ultimately, I'm
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: just happy to be a part of it. I'm not
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: looking for any specific metrics or anything like that at all.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: I think that it's nice to have growth and more
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: specifically as we get more good electricians and more great
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: people who want to be a part of this. Everybody wins.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Paul. So I got to ask you this.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: So you were in second grade 25 years ago. So
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: you got to be about 22, 23.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: How old are you now?
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: I'm 32. 32 now. Okay. Sorry.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: I was a little off. That's right.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Well, even so you're, you're young at this. So as
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: an entrepreneur, right? How do we get, more people in
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: the thirties, more involved. I feel like we can be
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: leaders at a very, at a young age in their thirties. But,
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: but again, there has to be a willingness there, right?
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: So when did you grow that willingness to be like, okay,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: I'm going to run something.
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: I'm going to run it well. It's all about breaking
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: it down and taking it one step at a time, man. You,
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: you can not do anything great. Well, you can have
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: a great day, but you cannot achieve anything truly great
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: in one day. And, Just doing something towards whatever your
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: goal may be is the best thing to do all
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: the time. And I think that as people do more
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: of that, they will go after even more of it
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: because they will feel good. They'll feel good from it.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: It'll be very positive. And it's just a mindset. I
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: think mental health is so important. I know a lot
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: of mental health is about addressing problems, but I believe
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: in using it as a solution. You want to be
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: very sharp and focused and dedicated to whatever it is
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: that you love.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting because I also do adaptability and I
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: feel like you're a perfect story of adapting.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: You went from accounting to this.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: So as I guess we touched on earlier, don't be
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: afraid to adapt into something new, I guess, is the point,
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: isn't it?
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: Yes, I was happy to try it. And I've been
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: very blessed my whole life to have such a great
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: support system and network of people. Who you surround yourself
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: with is so important. And I've always had a great,
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: great pool of people around me that love me. And
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: I've always had help. So even at that moment in
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: my life, when I was debating going further into accounting
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: or starting something new, which was this, I had people
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: that helped me and guide me and gave me some
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: great advice. And I actually, you know, shared a little
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: bit of it today. Some of it was that when
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: you're young, your life, everything is so reversible. So it just, it,
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: it's better to just try things.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: How about the, so some of these kids probably went
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: through college first, right? And then they're like, Oh my God,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: another few years of school. But Should they look at
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: it like that or they should look at it as,
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: all right, this is hands-on. You're not going to be
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: in the classroom the whole time.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: I think that education is so important no matter what
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: you do, no matter where you go. The moment you
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: stop learning is the moment that your career, well, it's
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: the beginning of the end. I'll call it. You always
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: want to be a student. You always want to be
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: learning new things about whatever it is that you're doing.
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: You always want to try to improve. And training is
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: all about that. So, Try to look at it. Was
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: the glass half full? And you'll be surprised what you
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: could get out of it.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Well, I normally like to follow up.
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: So either I'd love to be out there when you
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: guys open the new new one to be at the
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: grand opening.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: When is that?
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: Absolutely. We don't have a day plan. We have lots
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: of work and construction planned, a lot of stuff to
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: do before we're there. But I can't wait. I cannot wait.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: It's thrilling and it's taken a lot of time and
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: work and we're getting at it.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Well, I normally cover sports and news, but I want
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: to take time out today because what you're doing is
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: you're helping, and I'm guessing this is not just New
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: York or is it New York tri-state area?
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: What's the region?
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I will say we are expanding. There is some
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: work in tri-state area for sure, but The focus and
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: the roots are, will always be in New York.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: And I firmly believe what you guys are doing is
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: really almost saving the workforce by having this program. You're
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: literally bringing people in that may have been scared, afraid,
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: nervous of this market and saying, no, we're going to
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: help you roll up your sleeves. We'll be with you
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: by every, every step of the way, but we're going
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: to help you get there. You know, and that's so important.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: We are doing what we can passionately.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: I feel it. All right, Paul. I agree. No, thank
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: you so much for joining us. And where can we
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: find your website?
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: Our website is www.bteducationfund.org. All right.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: We'll put that in the link below as well. All right, Paul,
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: thanks for joining me at One Look Up Alex Media.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: And truly, when I was reading the article, I said,
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: this fund, this guy is helping people have one look
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: up on life.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: So I commend you for that.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: Sure thing, Alex. It was nice to meet you. Go Yankees.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I'm going tonight.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: And of course, they were a big part of the
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: 9-11 recovery in that year.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: So I got to honor them too.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Paul.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: Take care.