Currently in the second year of a four-year apprenticeship with the Carpenters Union, Benjamin Guerra-Murga hopes to eventually become a leader in the construction industry. When he heard about a partnership between the union and Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology that would put him on an accelerated path to earn an associate degree in Construction Management, he jumped at the chance.
“I was really excited and I applied right away,” he said. “I want to learn more about the trade and the workings of the construction industry. And the part-time schedule was a lot less daunting than trying to go back to school full-time.”
Through the program, classes are held two nights a week online, with occasional labs held in person at one of the union training centers. Guerra-Murga, 31, who had taken some college courses without completing a degree when he was younger, started the program in January.
“It takes a lot of discipline,” he said. “I’m still getting used to balancing the workload for the college classes and my apprenticeship classes, plus my full-time job with a drywall company. The key is staying on top of everything that needs to be turned in.”
Guerra-Murga said the program has been a great experience so far. He appreciates the convenience of online classes and is looking forward to the in-person labs to build a stronger community with the other union members in his cohort.
He is extremely excited about the career opportunities that will open up when he completes his apprenticeship and his Construction Management associate degree, though he not yet decided what area of construction he wants to specialize in. His advice to other considering enrolling in the union-college partnership program is to do some self-reflection first.
“Think about what you have going on in your personal life and your workload and whether you can make the commitment,” he said. “You need to make the space for it.”
