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9/14/26
Smiles filled the room as participants celebrated their graduation, certificates in hand and red professional tool bags at their sides. Stocked with the equipment needed for work in the electrical industry, the bags offered a practical head start while giving participants something of their own to maintain and take pride in as they build confidence on the job.
Through the , participants are beginning careers in the skilled trades. At the Universities at Shady Grove (USG), which serves as a host site for the program, they are also being introduced to another possibility: how higher education can help them move into leadership, grow their careers, or one day start businesses of their own. The idea that the trades can be the start of a longer educational and professional journey led to USG’s involvement in the program.
“One of USG’s great strengths is its power as a convening space in Montgomery County for all types of learners,” said Dr. Anne Khademian, executive director of USG. “For those who aspire to grow in their careers, we want them to see USG as a place where they can continue building their skills and pursue a degree from a respected university on our campus.”
The program is supported by Maryland’s Employment Advancement Right Now, or EARN Maryland, grant program. Led by program director Christa Tichy, it primarily serves young adults ages 18 to 25, particularly those living in Maryland and the Montgomery County area. Participants explore the electrical industry while preparing for formal apprenticeship opportunities.
The eight-week program combines full-time paid employment on job sites with Electrical Alliance contractors and weekly evening classes focused on skills and workplace readiness. Approximately 50 people have graduated since the program began two years ago. The latest cohort, the second held on the USG campus, included new Montgomery County Public Schools graduates from Albert Einstein and Springbrook high schools.
Tichy developed the program after teaching engineering and electricity at Seneca Valley High School in 2023. Her students were interested in the field but unsure how to turn that interest into a career.
“They said, ‘We really want to continue, and we don’t have a path forward,’” Tichy recalled.
Their questions resonated. As a single mother seeking a way to support her family, Tichy enrolled in a trade program at Montgomery College that introduced her to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. She completed the union’s five-year Inside Wireman apprenticeship, became a journeyman electrician, and went on to become the first female master electrician in Maryland. Her career provided financial stability and eventually helped her establish her own contracting company.
To show the future apprentices how higher education could support long-term career goals, Michelin Lateau Jones Vaughn of USG’s Center for Transfer Access stopped by the program for a session on degree pathways, affordable ways to complete a degree, and campus resources. She also guided the group through DiscoverU, USG’s career-exploration tool that connects personal interests with careers, salary information, and educational options.
Jones Vaughn highlighted several programs offered by universities Ģý that could build upon participants’ technical experience: the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UMBC; B.S. in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park; B.S. in Construction Management Technology from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and programs from the University of Maryland, College Park’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, along with other STEM degrees.
Participants also learned about the “2+2 pathway,” through which they can begin a degree at a two-year college and transfer to a university Ģý to complete a bachelor’s degree. This route can make a four-year degree more affordable and reduce the need to take on debt.
“You don’t dream or reach for certain goals unless you believe they are within your reach,” Jones Vaughn said. “It lets them know there is a path forward for them.”
Tichy’s own path illustrates how continuing education can build on a foundation in the skilled trades. After establishing herself in the electrical industry, she earned an associate’s degree in construction management from Montgomery College; a bachelor’s degree in construction management technology from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Maryland. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in homeland security. Tichy is an advocate for the skilled trades and works with elected officials on construction technology education. Tichy is also the Democratic nominee for a District 19 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in the Nov. 3 general election.
As a foreman on major construction projects, she sometimes encountered plans that worked mathematically but did not account for conditions on the job site.
“When someone works in the trades first and later transitions into engineering, management or design, they bridge that gap,” she said. “When you combine those two perspectives, you end up with an exceptional workforce.”
Tichy hopes the Electrical Career Readiness Program model will eventually expand to other skilled trades, creating similar connections among training, employment, and higher education.
The partnership demonstrates how USG can use its campus and regional relationships to create opportunities for the community it serves. By supporting connections to area employers and introducing participants to future degree pathways, USG is helping local talent build careers and continue growing close to home.