The Impact of Giving: Student Stories
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The Impact of Giving: Student Stories
The following stories about Williamson students demonstrate how your support is transforming their lives. Your passion for helping deserving young men become respected leaders and productive members of society has truly made a difference. We thank you for supporting Williamson College of the Trades.
Williamson Gives Student a Reality Check
Landen Nott 2W6, Landscape Construction and Management
Landen Nott spent his early years being homeschooled and never dreamt of attending a traditional college. When a teammate on his homeschooler football league pitched the idea of applying to Williamson, Landen liked the idea of continuing his education somewhere that didn’ t require sitting behind a desk or in a classroom all day long.
He’ d been exposed to landscaping as a profession through his business-owner father and worked at a camp taking care of the grounds for several years, making Landscape Construction and Management an easy choice of paths to pursue.
And while Landen admits transitioning from a homeschool environment to a rigorous schedule was a challenge, he is developing great time-management skills at Williamson. As an extrovert, Landen enjoys getting to know new people and is thankful for the opportunity to interact with young men from different backgrounds and educational experiences.
Landen Nott 2W6, Landscape Construction and Management.
Landen considers himself a natural-born leader but credits Williamson for helping him fine-tune his leadership style.“ Being a leader doesn’ t always mean you’ re the loudest in the group, which used to be my go-to approach. Instead, I’ ve learned that leadership requires the ability to glue people together somehow and to know when to stop talking to listen or simply show people how to collaborate.”
Landen may have started his postsecondary education with solid experience and an aptitude for landscaping, but Williamson gave him the reality check he said he needed. Through his coursework and hands-on learning, he gained a more in-depth understanding of his craft, the why behind the how, and what he can eventually do with his skills upon graduation. He enjoys digging into the nitty-gritty of topics like plant anatomy, machinery, and pest management.“ Williamson teaches how to refine your skills by providing the details behind each area of study to help students succeed.”
Because Landen grew up in a very religious household, he was drawn to Williamson’ s commitment to moral and spiritual development. He appreciates the availability of religious resources, including morning chapel and on-campus Bible studies. The intimacy and small-school culture at Williamson makes this possible, in Landen’ s opinion, and makes him feel comfortable.“ Not a lot of universities or colleges integrate religion into their programs, but Williamson is brave enough to do that. They don’ t pound it into you, but it’ s readily available, which was a nice surprise.”
Landen appreciates the size of Williamson’ s student body and notices how often teachers and administrators recognize students by name, not only current students but alums, too.“ Williamson is small enough that you get to know everybody, and the faculty gets to know you, so they can actually put time into you as a person instead of just another face.”
Student Benefits from Williamson’ s Many Positive Influences
Jason Fisicaro 2W5, Machine Tool Technology
Community is everything to Jason, who lost his parents at a young age— his mother when he was seven and his father when he was 15. He and his siblings relied on relatives to raise them. The support they received from their close-knit Pennsylvania town was critical in helping him stay on the right path. He was able to attend Cardinal O’ Hara, a private high school in nearby Springfield, thanks in part to the generosity of friends and families who helped him raise funds for his tuition.“ We sold Krispy Kreme donuts and hosted special events at local restaurants, |
and people stepped up with donations to support my high school education,”
Jason has never been afraid of hard work. He held several part-time jobs while attending high school, including working as a lifeguard and server at a pizza place. He wasn’ t familiar with the trades before pursuing a Williamson education and seriously considered joining the Marine Corps when he turned 18. He understood that attending a traditional college would mean incurring a lot of debt, which he wasn’ t prepared to do. When his friend’ s parents and some coaches told him about Williamson, he
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was excited to apply.“ I knew Williamson would be strict, but I had no problem with that. My goal was to learn how to balance academics, trades, and a sport, which was a challenge but definitely worth it.”
Jason has benefited from having so many positive influences in his life and understands the value of having leaders to turn to for support. He cited several mentors at Williamson who have helped him from the beginning.“ There’ s always someone to talk to here, and they’ re really cool. I can have honest conversations with my teachers and advisers. That’ s really important.” In turn, Jason serves as a leader himself, leading the Williamson football team in prayer before every game and counseling his younger brother through the choices he needs to make for his future. Leadership is at the heart of a Williamson education, and Jason is a shining example of how immersion in a challenging and
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supportive environment can change the trajectory of someone’ s life.
Williamson’ s Machine Tool Technology program turned out to be a great fit for Jason. He’ s grateful for everything he learned about machining and understands that the skills he’ s developed will last a lifetime. For the immediate future, he’ s exploring a career in sales because of an opportunity that’ s been presented to him.“ But who knows,” he says.“ So many doors have opened for me thanks to Williamson, and I’ m excited to have different options to consider.”
Williamson changed Jason’ s life— first by offering him the stability he was missing, and later by introducing him to opportunities he never knew existed. He’ s grateful for the support of his classmates, teachers, coaches, and other mentors.“ When things get tough, and they do, there are plenty of people here to help you through it. Being here at Williamson is worth all the effort.”
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Jason Fisicaro 2W5, Machine Tool Technology.
Alumni- We Need You to Volunteer!
Alumni volunteers are critical to Williamson’ s success. Whether you live close to campus or across the country, we have several opportunities to get involved, share your ideas, and lend your expertise in support of Williamson’ s alumni and students. From helping with outreach to your classmates to mentoring students on their 1,000-day journey, to serving on a WAA Leadership Team committee, alumni volunteers make a lasting impact on our Williamson community.
For more information on volunteer opportunities, visit williamson. edu / WAS or contact Alumni Relations at 610-566-1776, ext. 420 or alumni @ williamson. edu.