Fierros, Arturo 1

Arturo Fierros-Cervantes

Mrs. Jody Snyder/A.Holl

Senior Capstone - Rough Draft

May 13, 2021

The Decision of a Lifetime

Dream job - what everyone seeks but has a different result. What is your dream job? This

is the question that everyone asks themselves their whole life from a young age. Deciding

whether to become the doctor that every mother wishes their child to become or becoming a

business owner. Having to make this decision to me has become the most challenging question I

have ever run across. Tending to be an overthinker has played a massive role in this and has

made me go through every possibility. Capstone is just a taste of what the career will be and

makes us do very precise research, so we know if that is what we want to do in the future.

Having done this research for this capstone really helped me find that career that I want to

choose to follow.

Having been born on May 24, 2004, into a family of three at the time, my parents barely

had moved from Mexico to the United States to give their child a better life. To the land of

opportunity, we moved. Hearing stories of this country made them want to give their children a

better life. As a child, my family and I lived with all of my aunts and uncles. Living all together

made a powerful bond between me and my cousins. Now we are all like siblings because of the

very close bond. Being raised in a house with nine of my cousins and two of my siblings created

me into a people person, and also a lot more social since I was always surrounded by people and

would talk to them all the time.

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At that point in my life, I was still not the person I am today. I was not yet into the sport I

loved. I would stay home and not go out until my dad took me out one day and gave me my first

pair of soccer shoes. He later told me that my first practice was later that day. I was very nervous

about it because I was not a kid that was athletic. The first time I touched the ball at practice, I

knew I loved the sport. Playing the sport has played a massive part in my life and has made me

who I am today. My life to this day revolves around the sport, and my friends are all from

connections to soccer. Having many friends and family near me has created motivation and drive

for me to succeed in life and have a job that can maintain me and that I love. Along the way, all

my friends and family have helped me, motivating me to do more and pushing me to my limits.

Having all of these components have created me and molded me into who I am today.

Researching different careers and looking deeper into what had to be accomplished to

become a metal worker caught my attention and felt fit for me. I feel like a metal worker is more

of my interest. I have always watched my dad weld, and I always knew it was a fit for me. I hope

to one day be able to open my own business as a welder, but first, I hope to start work for a

company near Grand Rapids that offers the position of a metal worker. I hope to create

connections with different companies so out of college, I can have the connections to be able to

get a job as a metal worker. “‘Thriving in today’s economy requires relationships,” said Anne

Gaertner (M.S. ’11), senior director of employer relations and internships at Cornerstone

University. “Every vocational calling from an author and accountant to a photographer or a

physician requires the ability to develop and maintain relationships.’” (The Importance of

Making). I hope to be able to open a family business with my dad one day as a welder. I have

always known that a physical labor job was more for me than a job sitting behind a desk.

Welding is also a job that will always be in need. It is used by everyone, including engineers,
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“Whether you are a qualified engineer or a manufacturer, you most likely use welding on a

regular basis…”(Gillings as cited in Indian Welding Journal). Having so many opportunities for

welding also made me lean more toward being a metal worker.

As I am looking for my mentor, I am looking for an opportunity to create connections

with a company offering a job in my choice of career. I plan to attend Grand Rapids Community

College to get certified as a metal worker. I plan to go through the course and get certified so I

can get hired as a certified metal worker. I plan to work there for a while and gain experience. I

see myself going back to college after years of working on getting a business degree to be able to

open up my own business. To be able to have my own business will take years and years to

happen, but hopefully, in the future, I still have the same drive and ambition as I do now.

In conclusion, the goals I have set for myself may be challenging to achieve. With hard

work and dedication, I will be working towards my goals so I can achieve my dreams. Having

my own business will be what I drive for, but that begins with becoming a certified ironworker,

and with the support of my family and friends, I will be able to achieve them. This capstone

project will be a snippet of what I dream of my career becoming and hopefully one day I will be

a successful metal worker and my hard work and dedication will pay off.
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Works Cited

“Basics of Automatic Welding.” Indian Welding Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, 2003, p. 15.,

doi:10.22486/iwj.v36i4.178777.

“The Importance of Making Professional Connections in College.” Cornerstone University, 3

Sept. 2020, www.cornerstone.edu/blog-post/the-importance-of-making-professional-

connections-in-college/.