Class of 2024 St. Louis Park High School graduate Joshuah Folwick is starting his career right back where it all started: his own high school.

Starting this summer, Joshuah began working with Knutson Construction, the same construction company renovating the high school building. He credits a high school trade convention that took place last year as the catalyst for getting into the construction world.

“I knew college wasn’t for me,” Joshuah said. “It’s nice to see the [high school] transformation knowing how it used to look to how it looks now.”

During the trade convention Joshuah attended, he remembered hearing about an apprenticeship program and applied right away. After learning it was full and that he was too late to apply, he felt that he lost his chance.

However, he ran into the construction lead that was looking for workers to help at a different site. Joshuah, seeing his chance, grabbed at the opportunity and asked if he could come onto the team. They accepted him without hesitation, noting that having a former student would be a valuable asset to the construction site.

“It’s a nice familiar place, it’s not like I had to go jump out there and find a new place,” Joshuah said.

Knowing that the traditional four-year college degree wouldn’t be for him, he landed upon the construction business as a pathway towards real estate investment.

“I just want to learn as much as I can so as far up as I can go in that time frame,” Joshuah said. “I want to learn construction so that when I do buy my properties I’m not dumbfounded and getting ripped off.”

Construction keeps Joshuah busy, who couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk all day long. Always looking for the next opportunity to get ahead, Joshuah also received his real estate license the day after he turned 18 years old. During his senior year he also worked two jobs to help save money after high school.

It’s clear Joshuah is going places – honoring where he’s been, who he is and where he’s going – and we are very proud of him!

St. Louis Park Public Schools offers exciting Career and Technical Education program pathways in Management and Marketing, Health Sciences and Human Services, Communications and Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction. Learn more about these opportunities: https://hs.slpschools.org/students/career-college-center