When Terrell Redd arrived in Indianapolis from Chicago, he didn’t know a soul. After years of working in warehouses and restaurants, he was ready for a change.

“I was tired of that,” says Terrell, father to a 1-year-old daughter. “I said, I can’t see myself retiring from a restaurant: What would I have done with my life? You’re just working check to check with no benefits. I wanted to see myself saving and putting up money.”

Then he found information about BY Training. Soon he signed up for a class at the Edna Martin Christian Center, although he felt uncertain because he had no experience in construction.

“The class was a great opportunity, as long as you’re dedicated and stay focused,” he says. “They give you the recipe. You just got to show up. I didn’t know anything about construction. I was clueless. I was just trying to learn. But the stuff I didn’t know, they broke it down so I could understand it better.”

There were still moments when he felt discouraged and was nervous about whether he would pass the tests. But he persevered. Before long he was graduating with his NCCER Core Certificate and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration 30 Hour Construction Safety and Health (OSHA-30) card.

“It most definitely felt good,” Terrell recalls.

He attended a job fair organized by BY Training. He appreciated the chance to practice his interviewing skills and meet people who could actually hire him on. Terrell met a representative of E&B Paving and was impressed by what he heard. Unfortunately that was at the beginning of the off-season, so the company wasn’t hiring at the time. But Terrell persisted, calling E&B Paving every month to check on possible openings. Eventually the company said they were so impressed by his follow-up that they decided to take him on.

Now Terrell is making almost $30 an hour working on streets, roads and warehouse infrastructure.

“I love it,” Terrell says. “I feel that I’m a part of something. I have a great team. I wake up every morning and say, ‘I can take care of my family without worrying.’”

Next winter the company will pay for him to get his commercial driver’s license, which would bump his hourly pay to $37. He plans to advance his career by earning all the certifications he can.

He’s even spoken to a group of students in a BY Training class. He showed them photos of his graduation and his certifications.

“They got a chance to see that it’s really real,” Terrell says. “I’m the living proof.”

His advice to students: “This is what’s going to get you where you need to be. And they’re going to help you the whole way.”

Stories like Terrell’s wouldn’t be possible without support from Lilly Endowment – Thank you!