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Charlie Nilsson has been dreaming up business ideas for years. Little did he know that he would be through school and into his career by the age of 19.

The Eau Claire Memorial High School graduate began flexing his business prowess in middle school when mowing a neighbor’s yard turned into a lawn care business. 

Slowly, throughout high school, construction began piquing his interest.

“I never thought too much about construction and carpentry until my senior year,” he said. “I ended up building a bedframe for my sister. Then I started building bedframes and custom furniture.”

Nilsson learned about the Chippewa Valley Technical College Residential Construction High School Academy – courses he could take while still in high school. That was up his alley.

“I took all the construction classes I could at Memorial. There wasn’t much more I could do that, and I wanted to do more in the field,” he said. “I always built stuff on the side. I thought taking the classes at CVTC would be a good way to be more independent and do more in construction.”

Nilsson’s start at CVTC during his senior year of high school put him on a path to have a job in residential construction now, with the potential to become a project manager in the near future.

Elizabeth Buck, 25, also began her college journey at CVTC while she was attending Chippewa Falls Senior High School. Her eye was on healthcare.

“I always knew I wanted to do something with people. I love talking to people and I love their stories,” she said. “I think it felt very natural to be interested in health care for me.”

When her great-grandfather became ill and went to live in a nursing home, she began volunteering and eventually got a job at the facility. Right before her senior year at Chi-Hi, the EMT High School Academy opportunity came up at CVTC.

“It gave me a lot of confidence because it was one of the first times in my life where I was actively building toward something that I knew I wanted to do versus taking classes in high school,” Buck said. “I actually graduated from that program before I graduated from high school.”

But her drive and determination didn’t end there. 

As she received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in neuroscience from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., she was working in the intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic, rapid covid testing for the public, and a camp medic. She spent a couple years working in the emergency department at Hennepin County Medical Center. And now she is attending medical school at the  Medical College of Wisconsin while living in Green Bay.

Nilsson and Buck agree that CVTC opened their eyes and put them on the path to careers that make them content. 

“What’s really important when you think about your future is figuring out what gives you purpose,” Buck said. “Maybe you take the opportunity, this EMT program and you realize you’re terrified of bleeding and anything related to the body. That’s OK. But in these processes of being uncomfortable and trying something that is pushing you professionally and emotionally is such a gift, honestly.

“I think it really does mature you and develop you in a way that I think will change you for the rest of your life and help shape your future.”

 

Sidebar

Elizabeth Buck, CVTC EMT High School Academy graduate, drops truth bombs about being a lifelong learner:

“I think what's really cool about gaining skills, which I think are so important for young people, because so many people will graduate from college and not have skills and then have a hard time finding a position. And I think with CVTC specifically, you’re building skills. I'm not going to be the EMT forever, because I decided to go on. But with skills, you build on skills, and you can continue to build on skills and go from there. It doesn't really matter whether it's medical or mechanical or whatever. I think that you can continue to add to your skill level, and you should continue to grow your skillset, so you continue to master your trade.”

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