Bringing light to others: MCC Lineman Program celebrates completers
Completer Cade Null, third from left, is congratulated by Utility Lineman Program
instructors Wally Collins, left, and Kim Culpepper, and MCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner,
right.
Two days before Owen Gatwood, 18, of Hattiesburg, walked in his high school graduation ceremony, he was handed his completion certificate from Meridian Community College’s Utility Lineman Program.
Gatwood, who earned his high school diploma in December 2021, was among the 12 completers in MCC’s class of the Utility Lineman Program, where for 16 weeks, students were readied to build, repair, and maintain electrical power and distribution systems.
Four days after receiving his Utility Lineman completion certificate, Gatwood began work at Irby Construction of Richland working on transmission lines.
Other completers for this class, which started in January, included James Creer, Christopher Edwards, Max Haney, Adam Hannah, Timothy Lake, Michael Luker, Corey Miller, Cade Null, Phillip Radcliffe, Tyler Ricks, and Nathan Simnicht. Wally Collins served as the primary Utility Lineman instructor, and Kim Culpepper was also an instructor.
Darren Bane is the MCC workforce development project manager coordinating the program. He noted many from the class already have jobs, and others are being interviewed for positions in the industry.
During a completion celebration held in the College’s Riley Workforce Development Center with family, friends, and College officials gathered, MCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner congratulated the students on their career choices and called them heroes. “When the world is dark, your job is to give them light. When things are down, your job is to bring them up. And not everyone can do that.”
He added, “You’ve been trained by some of the best.”
“We couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Bane, adding, “They will represent their families and friends well and will represent MCC well.”
Another student, Cade Null, 19, of Meridian, is also employed; he works on the pole change out crew for MDR Construction, a Columbia-based company that constructs, repairs, and upgrades electrical utility lines in the Eastern U.S.
He discovered the College’s Utility Lineman Program through a social media post. “Then I looked into it. I tried to get into the previous class, but it was full. I had to wait, but it was worth the wait,” Null said about the MCC program.
Null said the program prepared him and his classmates, learning various skills, including setting poles and guy-wires. There was another gain. “One more other thing. It’s a brotherhood; the school is. You get a sense of family, lifelong friends,” he added.
Now with certificate in hand, Null is eager to begin his career. “Man, it’s a good line of work. It’s a rewarding job. But it is work for sure. The best part of work is the experience. I like doing it; it’s fun. But it’s not for everybody,” he said.