The 21-year-old Vista resident grew up helping his father on landscaping jobs. Today, with skills learned at Palomar College, he is pursuing a passion for working with his hands.<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Misael Venancio came to Palomar College with a vague plan to study computer science. Less than three years later, he had not only learned a trade at Palomar, but had landed his first job as a woodworker with a local company.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like computers, but I\u2019ve always been an on-my-feet kind of guy,\u201d Venancio said during a recent interview on campus, wearing his shop apron and smelling like freshly sawn lumber.<\/p>\n
He grinned as he explained that he had been working on holiday orders at his new job with Cades & Birch, which sells handmade gifts and household items crafted in its Vista shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my first job in actual woodworking,\u201d he said. \u201cIn May I was hired on as the wood shop assistant, basically helping the main woodworker with cutting, assembling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venancio\u2019s story reflects the experience of thousands of students who are learning employable trade skills in one of Palomar\u2019s many Career Education programs. Woodworking\u2014formally known as \u201cCabinet & Furniture Technology\u201d (CFT)\u2014has given the 21-year-old Vista resident a new passion, as well as a fledgling career.<\/p>\n
Palomar\u2019s award-winning CFT program has received national and local recognition, including frequent honors for student and faculty work at the San Diego County Fair woodworking exhibit every summer. For Venancio, the woodshop at Palomar has been a refuge and a source of inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up the youngest child of an immigrant, who was a gardener,\u201d he recalled. \u201cSo since I was a kid, I was always spending the weekends helping my old man, whether it was mowing the lawn, trimming trees, or setting up fences and irrigation systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a fascination with wood\u2014trees were always my thing,\u201d he added. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t think about woodworking until maybe 2016, when I saw the displays they had in the library here at Palomar. That really caught my eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, Venancio said, he\u2019s taken six woodworking classes at Palomar, and he is now an outspoken evangelist for the CFT program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis program saved me, in a way. I was just so directionless,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI spent at least a year developing skills and trying to get my own style down. It\u2019s extremely rewarding in every sense of the word. These are skills you develop yourself; nobody can take them from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venancio said he ultimately wants \u201cwhat every woodworker wants\u2014to have my own shop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s not easy, but growing up, nothing was ever easy,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if I want it badly enough, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime, he\u2019ll be in the shop, making his Christmas presents by hand: \u201cBeing Hispanic, I\u2019ve got a large family, so I need to get a head start,\u201d he said with a grin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"