Joshua Willis Stuck with His Childhood Ambition; Now He’s Excelling as an Electrical Supervisor Many young boys dream of growing up to become professional athletes. Joshua Willis always wanted to be an electrician. He’s not sure why, but he says, “I wanted to do electrical work ever since I was 4 years old. I used to like to play with wires. I would tear apart remote control cars, pull the wires out, strip them with the gap in my teeth, then try to rewire them in reverse. I had no family history in electrical or construction. The closest thing anyone in my family did to construction was driving a truck at a granite quarry.” He represented the company at the 2017 CEFGA CareerExpo and SkillsUSA State Championships – a fitting role since he’s a former SkillsUSA competitor himself.

After graduating from Elberton High School, Joshua moved to Decatur to live with an older brother and attend Dekalb Technical College. He transferred to Atlanta Technical College a year later and qualified for the SkillsUSA State Championships in 2011. He didn’t win, but one of his judges, Allison-Smith’s Matt Moore, was impressed with his work.

“Everything I wanted to do in electrical, I’ve done it,” he says. “Of course, there’s a lot more to do. But it’s just been a great ride. I thank God that I was able to not only achieve my goals, but also to be an example to others. That’s really the best part about it.”