Emmanuel Mondragon graduated from Hoover High School in 2024 with no clear path forward - just a summer with too much time on his hands. A friend's suggestion pointed him toward Lawson State, and a little research into the trades did the rest.
"I'd heard a lot of good things about HVAC being a booming trade," he said, "so I applied, got in, and started classes in the Fall of 2024."
The transition was something else. Unlike high school, where four years of shared classrooms, schedules and experiences create a sense of familiarity, Lawson was a fresh start among strangers. Emmanuel found himself sitting in the back of the classroom, quiet.
"I was wondering, 'Am I going to do well?'" Emmanuel recalled. "I probably had a little anxiety."
By the second semester, something shifted. A wiring final exam - requiring students to correctly identify and connect the wiring of residential HVAC units from a tangled starting point - became a turning point. When HVAC instructor Adam Rayford handed back the exam with a 100 at the top, something changed, according to Emmanuel.
"I was the happiest person in the world at that point," he said. "After that, my confidence got a big boost."
That confidence carried him through the rest of the program.
"He really came into his own during his time with us," Mr. Rayford said recently as he presented Emmanuel with a pair of specially designed engraved pliers as the program's 2026 Outstanding Graduate. It's a a detail that means more given that Emmanuel paid for his tuition and tools entirely out of pocket while working at Marcos Pizza and Best Buy.
"Lawson has been great for my education and my social skills," said Emmanuel, who is on track to finish the air conditioning and refrigeration program with the highest grade average in his class. "I feel like I can talk to anyone."
Emmanuel will participate in graduation on May 8, receiving his long certificate in HVAC Technology. He plans to pursue an apprenticeship next and hopes to return to Lawson State to complete his associate degree, and one day-with plenty of confidence-own his own business.
Interested in HVAC? Emmanuel didn't know what he wanted to do after high school. One conversation changed that. Take the first step and apply to Lawson State today.
