By Terry Bierwirth, Second Story Marketing Group
No debt. No delay. Just work, school and a plan.
When Tobias Romero walked across the stage at Albuquerque’s Valley High School in May 2026, he carried more than graduation cords on his shoulder. He carried years of hard work, a long list of accomplishments and a life-changing decision most 18-year-olds are not fully prepared to make.
Tobias graduated fourth in his class with a 4.65 GPA. He had taken Advanced Placement courses, and he served as student council treasurer, National Honor Society secretary and student representative on the Instructional Council.
The biggest impact, however, was spending three years inside Valley’s Engineering the Future (EtF) magnet program, where he studied engineering and metals, learned CAD, worked with CNC machines and became the student other students counted on in the shop. Inside EtF, Tobias found the place where design and hands-on work meet.
EtF provides hands-on, project-based experiences that connect technical skills, problem-solving, leadership and real career pathways. One of those projects was a public stage mural for the Westside Community Center in Albuquerque’s South Valley. Tobias helped with the CAD work and blueprints, making sure the dimensions were right and the design could be sent out, cut and assembled correctly.
But EtF wasn’t Tobias’s introduction to the trades; he started working for AB Honest One Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, a local company owned by a family friend, when he was 13. He began as a laborer, carrying materials and helping wherever he was needed. Over time, he watched, listened, worked and learned.
Combined with the EtF program, that kind of work left a strong impression on him.
There is something different about building something that will exist outside of a classroom. Something that requires your mind, your hands and your attention to detail. That connection is part of what eventually led Tobias to sheet metal.
Choosing between college and a career in the trades
Tobias had done everything a high-achieving student is told to do. Because of that, he had choices.
He had not only been accepted to several universities — including University of New Mexico, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and Northern Arizona University — but he also received scholarship offers, including a full ride and presidential scholarship to High Point University in North Carolina. For a long time, college seemed like the obvious direction. Then Tobias began to look at the full picture.
He looked at the cost. He looked at the debt. He looked at the years it would take before he could begin earning a real income. He looked at his family.
And he made a difficult but clear decision. He stayed in New Mexico. Not because he lacked ambition — but because he had so much of it.
Tobias did not give up on college. He changed the order. He chose to go to work, become a member of SMART Local 49, begin the apprenticeship program and take online college courses. For Tobias, that decision was about responsibility.
“I do not want to get into any student debt,” he said. “I do not want to be struggling and paying off these loans later in life.”
He also did not want his parents to carry the financial weight of his education.
His mother is a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital and the primary source of income for their family. His father, a former corrections officer, was injured in his previous job. Tobias is the oldest of four children, with the youngest being only four years old.
“I feel like parents should not have to pay for your schooling,” he said. “You should be able to figure that out, especially with what you’re wanting to do in your life.”
How Local 49 showed Tobias the SMART union difference
Before he graduated, Tobias was still thinking about college. His former Valley welding instructor, Shawn Coffey, understood why. Coffey, now outreach coordinator for Local 49’s Training Center, had taught Tobias at Valley. He knew Tobias had the grades, intelligence and drive to pursue a traditional college path. He also knew Tobias had the mind for the trade.
“Tobias is a fantastic young man,” Coffey said. “It took some work to help him see the opportunity in the trade because he was originally focused on college. Once he learned about detailing and how he could use his engineering mind in this industry, he became very interested.”
Coffey also knew Tobias was not the only one who needed to understand the opportunity. His parents had questions too. Coffey sat down with them and explained the apprenticeship, the trade, the detailing opportunity and Tobias’s ability to begin earning an income right away. Once they understood the path, they were fully supportive.
That was the turning point. Tobias was not being asked to walk away from his interest in engineering. He was being shown a career where he could use it.
Through Local 49 and signatory contractor Yearout Mechanical, Tobias learned about detailing and design work in the sheet metal industry. He learned that the trade was not only field work. It was also planning, coordination, CAD, problem-solving and technical design.
Signing Day: Celebrating the next generation of the trades
Tobias interviewed with Yearout in January. From that point forward, he stayed in touch and waited for graduation so he could officially begin. Then came Signing Day.
Valley held a special stole ceremony for the 60 students who participated in EtF. Students were honored for their time in the program and for the pathways they had completed. Tobias received a stole recognizing his three years in engineering and metals. When the ceremony ended, the room shifted into Signing Day. One by one, students sat down to sign letters of intent, with nine EtF students signing with signatory contractors of Local 49.
For years, students have been celebrated for signing athletic scholarships or committing to universities. James Magofee, director of safety and manpower for Yearout Mechanical, saw the value in bringing that same level of recognition to students choosing skilled trades careers. He understood that students committing to work, apprenticeship and a skilled career deserve to be honored too.
As Tobias signed with Yearout, he knew he was making a real commitment. He was signing with an employer, stepping into Local 49 and beginning a career.
“I was definitely relieved and happy because I knew I was investing into my future,” he said.
Paving the way to a long-term career via SMART’s apprenticeship program
The work Tobias will begin with Yearout as a detailer is a rare opportunity for someone coming directly out of high school.
“Less than one percent of applicants get the opportunity to begin in an office position as a detailer,” said Isaiah Zemke, Local 49 business manager. “Tobias has earned a rare opportunity, and we are excited to see what he does with it.”
Cassandra Gonzales, assistant principal for Engineering the Future at Valley High School, is not surprised.
“Tobias is a great young man,” Gonzales said. “I believe in him. He was one of our strongest students, and he is capable of doing whatever he puts his mind to.”
Tobias started Local 49’s orientation the week after graduation and entered the sheet metal apprenticeship with advanced credit for his experience in EtF.
Grades matter. Scholarships matter. Recognition matters. But Tobias understands something else too. Work ethic matters just as much.
“I want to be seen as somebody who is reliable and trustworthy and sticks to their word,” he said. “I am continuously ambitious and continuously push myself to grow.”
Welcome to SMART, brother!
Also signing letters of intent with Local 49 signatory contractors were:
- Nicole Campos, Yearout Mechanical
- Santiago Gallegos, Yearout Mechanical
- Allan Marquez, Yearout Mechanical
- Andres Andrade, Butler Sheet Metal & Mechanical
- Adrian Alvarez, Yearout Mechanical
- Armando Silva, Butler Sheet Metal & Mechanical
- Gabriel Carrillo, Butler Sheet Metal & Mechanical
- Eli Hershey, JB Henderson