Center for Health Workforce at Mason

Chase Fretwell isn't afraid of hard work. Since before he was a teenager, the Stuarts Draft High School senior has been working odd jobs — mowing grass, clearing brush, splitting firewood, baling hay.

"When he was 14, he came home and handed me $500 of his own money for truck parts," said his mom, Amanda Fretwell. "So he's got that work ethic."

On Monday afternoon, Fretwell was one of four Valley Career and Technical Center (VCTC) students who signed an apprenticeship agreement with local employers. Still in high school, Fretwell has a job lined up with Lawrence Equipment working on heavy equipment.

"Both my grandparents and my dad and uncles on both sides of the family have always been in mechanics," he said. "I just wanted to learn something new. I didn't know a lot about diesel engines. Both my uncle and my grandpa drove diesels growing up and I've always been fascinated by them, so I was like, well, might as well try to make a career out of it."

The other students signing apprenticeship agreements through the Virginia Registered Apprenticeship program Monday were Wyatt Hanger (Riverheads) with George Owens Construction, Tyler Holenstein (Buffalo Gap) with Blauch Brothers and Andrew Blackard (Riverheads) with E & E Plumbing & Heating.

VCTC is one of nine regional centers in Virginia providing technical education and career preparation for both high school students and adults. The school serves students in the Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro school divisions.