Making a Change

So it looks like I will be making a change soon into a different topic hopefully. I recently called my Aunt who works at an Optometrist's office. This is just to notify anyone reading this as this blog will make big twist and I will have to re-do the blogs.

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

Miguel Hernandez
(626) 407-7416
Miguel's Plumbing


2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?


This person who I mentored under was indeed an expert in the business of Plumbing. We spent many long hours throughout many weeks working with his clientele all over Southern California.


3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.

How much time did you spend working under your mentor?

I honestly didn't even know that I was working that many hours, I only mentioned the major jobs in the hours log because they were the longest but overall, I worked at least 27 in two weeks during June and 35 during two weeks in July and I'm going to continue to work with my Uncle throughout the year, because this job allows you to really connect with people.

Is this a difficult topic to do?

Yes and No. Yes, because it is harder to pin-point what things to really explain in a presentation since this isn't a usual thing a person would present about, but people really don't understand how much work goes into pipelines, sinks, etc. and no, because many of these jobs are simple which is why I only log the major ones which require long hours of driving and extreme patience.

Are you interested in pursuing this as a career?

While it is an interesting, and I'll be honest, fun job to work, I would not choose this as my career. I don't think I have the stomach to be able to do this dirty work all the time, but I got to hand it to plumbers, their job might look easy, but it is more difficult then you might perceive it to be. It takes a lot of patience and knowledge about piping to know how to get it right the first time.


4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?


The most important thing I've gained from this experience is to always take a risk when there are no major consequences. My Uncle started out mentoring under another one of my Uncles because he didn't have a job at the time and soon he was out on his own trying to build up his own plumbing business. He began making connections with his clients and his clients would recommend him to other clients and soon enough, his business was set and ready to go. He used his money to buy more tools for the trade and now he's good to go.


5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did mentorship help you make your decision? Please explain.


My Senior Project Topic is going to be, "What makes or breaks a successful Plumbing Business?" It may not sound interesting but once you really get into it, it can be very intriguing. My mentorship helped me make this decision because its an unexpected job someone would choose, you never really think about how your water gets to you or how your sink remains functioning. When you pay a plumber to fix stuff in your house, you probably don't realize what they are doing, but hopefully I will be able to explain it all throughout the year.

My Mentorship Hours Log