Capitalizing on Connections

One of the many important reasons Construction Ready hosts its CareerExpo every winter is to facilitate face-to-face connections between students and potential employers. Relationships are established, career paths take shape, and sometimes job offers are extended.

When Natalie Wade attended the 2026 CareerEXPO – while competing in Plumbing at the concurrent SkillsUSA Georgia state championships – she made it a point to visit the World of Heating & Air, where McKenney’s, Inc. had a booth.

Natalie, who was then a junior at Adairsville High School, recently had met and begun a dialogue with the McKenney’s Construction Field Recruiter, Wade Hines, at regional SkillsUSA competitions leading up to the state championships. Prior to the state competition, she went to say hello to Hines; the next thing she knew, she was engaged in conversation with several Field Operations Supervisors about a job when she finishes high school.

“I first saw Natalie at the plumbing competition at Mechanical Trades Institute, and she won it as a sophomore against all competitors,” Hines recalls. “That caught my attention. Fast-forward to the 2025 regional competition in Marietta, and she took first place again. While congratulating her, we talked about her future, and I knew this was someone special.”

Looking back at the CareerEXPO networking scene, Natalie says, “I thought that was super cool, and I am super excited for [the job opportunity]. If [the CareerEXPO] wasn’t available, I don’t think I would be as far into my trade as I am, and I don’t think a lot of people would see what goes on [in the construction industry].”

Receiving an unofficial job offer was a bonus from her time at the CareerEXPO and SkillsUSA competition. But even before she arrived, she had a bigger picture in mind, and that fortuitous connection helped her cross an important item off her to-do list.

“I always wanted to be secure [in my post-graduation plans], while I’m in still in high school,” she explains. “That was one of the big goals I wanted to accomplish, and now that I have accomplished that, it’s definitely giving me more security and helping my development overall.”

After she graduates in the spring of 2027, Natalie plans to begin a plumbing apprenticeship with McKenney’s, via UA Local Union 72 in Atlanta.

Natalie has long been determined to work in the skilled trades. She was exposed to the construction industry from an early age, thanks to a grandfather who owned a construction business.

“He started off roofing, then he got involved in other trades and subcontracting out jobs,” Natalie remembers. “That’s where I kind of picked it up, because I would go to job sites and help him and just be there and see all that was going  on. So I knew I wanted to do something like that, I just wasn’t exactly sure what.”

As a middle-schooler, Natalie became acquainted with SkillsUSA through an older cousin who competed in cabinet making. As a freshman at Adairsville High, she enrolled in CTAE teacher Kevin Goble’s Construction Pathway. Goble also serves as the school’s SkillsUSA advisor for construction, and he steered Natalie toward what has become her area of expertise.

“Originally I wanted to be a cabinet maker,” she says. “When I went to talk to Kevin Goble about joining SkillsUSA, he said, ‘Well, I need a plumber. Are you okay with that?’ I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.’ I just wanted to be involved.”

Natalie got involved alright – she went out and won the first plumbing competition she entered.

“I started competing at the AGC Georgia Metro Atlanta Skills Challenge,” she says. “I had only been practicing about a week beforehand. I was definitely nervous. I really didn’t know what to expect. But I got into a groove and I was just focusing on what I had to get done, and I ended up winning.

“I was definitely shocked,” she adds. “My heart was racing so fast.”

Natalie continued to compete in regional skills contests as a sophomore. Then, as a junior, she qualified for the SkillsUSA Georgia Championships, where she placed second in plumbing. A job offer and a state runner-up finish in two days – not a bad showing, but Natalie is still striving for more.

“I was definitely pushing for [first place] and practicing quite a bit,” she says, adding that the experience has “given me more passion to get that title” as a senior.

Before beginning her final year of high school, Natalie is engaged in another intense pursuit: Army training. A Junior ROTC student, she’s spending her 2026 summer break in Basic Training for the National Guard at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood. Natalie is following in the footsteps of her father, an Army veteran, and after her high school graduation, she’ll return to Fort Leonard Wood for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as a Horizontal Construction Engineer.

“Natalie has shown an incredible passion for the plumbing trade and a genuine desire to learn and grow,” Hines says. “Beyond her talent, I have great respect for her for commitment to serve in the Georgia Army National Guard. As a fellow veteran, I know the dedication that takes. I’m genuinely excited to see where her career, both in the trades and in service, takes her.”

As a high school senior, Natalie will continue to learn under the steady guidance of the Adairsville faculty. In particular, she cites John Ford, her computer science teacher, and Goble as strong influences, with Goble “always pushing me to do better and learn things differently.”

She’ll continue to learn as a plumbing apprentice, and ultimately , she says, she aims to launch her own plumbing business, “which will be female- and military veteran-owned. I would absolutely love to do that.”

Considering all Natalie has accomplished already, there’s no reason to doubt her.