“If I can make someone’s car better and have a smile on their face when I’m done, that’s what makes me happy.”
— Tremain
Not knowing what came next bothered Tremain Perkins.
He thought about where he might be five years down the road—what kind of work he would be doing, what direction his life might take—and not having an answer scared him.
That uncertainty helped bring him to Workforce Development | Project Learn of Summit County
Tremain saw education as an opportunity to begin figuring out what he was good at and where those skills could take him.
One of the answers came through math.
“I became a good math student,” Tremain said, “and I wanted to use my math studies to get me further.”
What began with numbers eventually became much more hands-on.
Tremain learned to read blueprints and discovered that he was good at it.
That skill introduced him to welding—the measurements, fabrication, pipe fitting, and structural work involved in putting things together correctly.
He found work that suited him.
“I began to love welding,” he said.
Tremain went on to study welding at Fortis College and continued developing his skills through work experience. Over the next four years, what he learned on the job gave him another idea.
Maybe he could build something of his own.
Tremain eventually took his technical experience and applied it to automotive repair, opening his own garage business.
Running a business brought a different kind of education.
He had to learn about business banking, financing, bills, utilities, and the day-to-day responsibilities that come with keeping an operation going.
But the part of the work Tremain talks about most enthusiastically isn't the business side.
It's fixing something for another person.
“I literally run to my job every day.”
— Tremain
For him, the satisfaction comes from working with his hands, solving a problem, and seeing the customer's reaction afterward.
“If I can make someone’s car better and have a good smile on their face when I’m done, that’s what makes me happy,” he said.
That desire to help people is also part of how Tremain thinks about his business. He sees his skills as something he can use not only to earn a living, but also to give back to his community.
Of everything Tremain has accomplished, one achievement carries particular meaning.
He became the first person in his family to graduate from college.
His path there wasn't a straight line. It moved from uncertainty about his future to discovering strengths in math, learning to read blueprints, pursuing welding and eventually putting years of technical experience to work for himself.
Now, when Tremain talks to someone who wants to build a career or business of their own, his advice comes from that experience.
Stick with it, he says. Be flexible. Be a team player.
And keep learning.
For Tremain, education became a way to turn the unknown he once worried about into skills he could actually use.
Those skills led to a trade.
The trade led to experience.
And eventually, the experience helped him build something of his own.
