Jacob Bradley chose to display his dedication to becoming a full-time plumber by signing a letter of intent for the position, as students athletes typically do when making a commitment to a college.
For those readying to move on from high school, there are many paths from which to choose. It’s something 18-year-old Jacob Bradley from Kentucky kept in mind as he chose to line up a full-time job with a local plumbing company. And to show his dedication, he chose to sign a letter of intent for the position, as students athletes typically do when making a commitment to a college.
“I just figured, willing to take the opportunity, why not?” he told Inside Edition Digital.
At Montgomery County High School, students can choose to take a pathway.
“So you can take an agriculture pathway, and then you can go into a job in that similar part of the field, if it correlates with a little bit, that way you can leave early your senior year, if you have your credits in line,” Jacob said.
Instead of remaining in school until 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m., Jacob can leave at 1 p.m. to go work for the rest of the day.
Jacob says he weighed his options beforehand.
“My parents didn't go to college, my sister did, so I got to see the point of view on both,” he said. “And, all three of them were pretty successful, in my opinion…And when I see the opportunity that I don't need to go to school, and I can learn either way and do just fine, I figured there's no point in having a debt in anything, if you don't need to.”
Jacob’s parents are very supportive of his plan, confident that their hard-working son, who has held down a job since he was 15, would succeed at what he put his mind to. And at school, Jacob is something of a trailblazer, having been the first student to ever sign a letter of intent for a full-time job.
“There is nothing to be ashamed about going immediately into the workforce, so I think it's awesome,” Lacy Gross, a counselor at the school, told Inside Edition Digital. “We can celebrate our athletes who are going on and doing something awesome, but we can also celebrate students like Jacob.”
She hopes to grow their already successful co-op program to help students realize there are other options in life.
“I am hoping that this brings light to the fact that there are so many awesome opportunities and programs available to our students who are graduating,” Gross said. “And we should acknowledge that and congratulate them, just like we do the athletes.”
