Yve Servius was homeless, living in his car and had no clear path to a better life. A friend of his couldn’t stand to see him living in the confined space a car offers, so he and his dad took him into their home.
“A good friend of mine took me in and while I was staying with him, his father, who was a plumber, gave me some tough love,” Servius said. “You can’t just sit around with no haircut and no job,” Servius continued with a chuckle. “He said you gotta keep taking steps towards your future.”
What did that mean to Servius? He ended up going on a few plumbing jobs with his friend’s dad and that sparked enough interest in him to pursue the trade as a career path. The Pine Hills native, a neighborhood in Orlando, enrolled in the brand-new Valencia College and Mechanical One Residential/Commercial Plumbing Technician program and immediately was happy with his decision.
The plumbing program was created in large part thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Lowe’s Foundation. In fact, not only did Lowe’s help Valencia College launch the program, but it funded every student’s tuition to take the financial burden off their shoulders.
To Servius, that funding and generosity from Lowe’s was so much more than money, it created a new family for him.
“I didn’t expect our relationships to get so strong,” Servius said of becoming close to his classmates and instructors. “I want to give a huge thank you to Tom and Randy (his plumbing instructors); they are like family. They didn’t just teach us how to cut pipe and read a blueprint, they taught us how to think and work smart and stay focused even when it gets hard,” Servius continued.
Servius learned all the technical skills necessary to be a successful plumber and that is the beauty of the hands-on environment the program promotes. In fact, that led Servius to land 10 job interviews and three offers by graduation day. After weighing his options, he signed on with Paramount Plumbing making $24/hr.
It’s a success story that incorporates many moving parts along the way, and Servius’ time at Valencia College represents so much more that taking a class.
“Plumbing is about keeping things flowing even when it feels like things are working against you,” Servius said. “This wasn’t just a class; it was a second chance. I want to thank the Lowe’s Foundation for the grant to start this program, it changed my life. Without your support, I wouldn’t be standing here today with a future I’m proud of. What you have done goes far beyond funding, you have helped give people like me a real shot at stability, purpose and finding our worth. I’m not stuck anymore, I’m not just getting by, and for the first time in a long time I’m moving forward with confidence.”