Aden Strahler stands at the entrance to the Washington County Career Center where he is a senior in the electrical program. (photo provided)
VINCENT – For Aden Strahler, a curiosity about the ins and outs of the electrical age led to a career path that he hopes will land him his dream job as an electrician in an industrial setting.
Strahler is a senior at Warren High School and the Washington County Career Center, where he is a full-time student in the center’s electrical program.
“We are mainly looking at residential electricity and how to wire homes and commercial construction.” He said. “In our classes we did some commercial and some industrial work using motor controls.”
What they do is a mix of in-class projects and outside projects, Strahler said.
“These are mainly people who work at or go to the career center, they will bring broken items for us to work with and we also repair items at school for items approved for repair.” He said. “We recently installed fans in the school and renovated the electrical outlets in the buildings.
Warren High School student Aden Strahler, right, blocks a penalty kick from the opposing team. (photo provided)
“We have someone installing a three-phase panel right now, and he has to run it from one end of the building to the other.”
In addition to installing the fan, Strahler said, he rewired a classroom and worked on a generator for a teacher in the electrical program.
After graduating in 2025, Strahler said he is interested in working as an industrial electrician.
“I am very much looking forward to the industrial electrician program so I can work in factories more.” He said.
Strahler said he could start a path to working in industry before graduating.
Aden Strahler poses with family during a recent gathering. (photo provided)
“I can start the path to this in high school by enrolling early, and I can also take an adult education class the next semester if I want to.” He said. “I can’t get into the industrial side of a factory yet. I don’t have enough experience for that.”
At this point, Strahler said he’s not sure where he’ll go next.
“I’m going to adult education at the Career Center or Washington State College, I’m not sure which yet,” He said.
Strahler said he has experience with the programs the career center offers.
“I leaned more towards the blue-collar side and not areas like graphic design or digital marketing,” He said. “Electricity is something that interested me and this is the best way to approach it.”
Aden Strahler finished his fourth year of football at Warren High School. (photo provided)
Strahler said he wasn’t influenced by choosing the electric program by any one person, but mainly by the things he likes to do.
“I love building things and I love building houses.” He said. “I love working in automotive and electrical, which is something I had no experience in and wanted to learn more.”
At Warren High School, Strahler said he enjoyed shop classes where he could build things.
“I took some graphic design classes to learn how to use computers.” He said. “I mainly enjoyed the elective classes.
However, Strahler said the career center gives students more flexibility in their studies.
Aden Strahler after a recent wrestling tournament. (photo provided)
“At the job centre, we’re more free, I would say, so do what we want.” He said. “It’s much more relaxed, less school work, and more hands-on experience.
“We have a morning schedule where we can go out to other classrooms and work on projects or just stay in the classroom doing books all day.”
At Warren High School, Strahler was a member of the football team and the wrestling team. He is also a member of the National Technical Honor Society.
