When he left Adams Central High School in Monroe, Jarod Bushroe wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he knew one thing: He didn’t want to go to college. He had seen too many other people automatically head off to college without knowing what they really wanted to study, and then come home unhappy.
With a couple of years of work under his belt, 20-year-old Jarod is re-thinking his college decision – mostly because he now knows what he would study. And it doesn’t hurt that his employer would help pay for it.
After working for a while in concrete, in 2022 Jarod took a job drawing wire for Fort Wayne Metals, a manufacturer of precision wire-based materials and components, quickly proving his value. Now he’s a team lead for the company that makes wire used in customers’ medical devices to improve lives.
Jarod knew a fair amount about Fort Wayne Metals when he applied. After all, his dad has worked there for more than a dozen years, and he had described the company as a good place to work, a place that treats employees like family.
“Until coming here, I didn’t really know what that meant,” Jarod says. Now he sees that it means people respect and value you, even if you’re a young guy coming into an environment where some employees have worked for decades. “Everybody is willing to teach you and encourage you, mentoring you and wanting you to succeed.”
Sitting back at Adams Central, Jarod didn’t see himself doing the kind of work he’s doing now, which includes leading his team, running meetings and handling administrative tasks, as well as being available to answer questions on the production floor and even do some hands-on work if needed. He likes the environment and the variety of his work.
If he were to talk to young people coming out of school today, Jarod says, he’d tell them to not be afraid to try new things, to apply for jobs that interest them, even if they don’t know if they’ll love them. “Get out of your comfort zone,” he says.
A video gamer who played sports in high school, Jarod says he also would encourage young people to hold off on college if they don’t know what really interests them. It’s something he can relate to, as now he is considering returning to school to study manufacturing engineering. “It definitely beats going to college and getting a degree that you’re not going to use,” he says. Plus, if you’re like him, your company will cover the cost and, like a family, do all it can to help you succeed.
