The Pathfinder Project
The Pathfinder Plan
My evidence · three strengths with proof
Not adjectives. Things I did, that someone else can verify.
- 1 I fix things before anyone asks me to. Rebuilt the carburetor on my grandfather's mower over one weekend with a service manual and a lot of video. It has started on the first pull for two seasons since.
- 2 I get steadier when other people get rattled. Two years on stage crew, including the night the lighting board died twenty minutes before curtain. I traced it to a bad DMX cable and we went up six minutes late.
- 3 People trust me with their money and their property. Ran a pressure-washing side job the last two summers. Fourteen repeat customers, zero complaints, $2,300 saved.
My primary path
- The path Skilled trades · HVAC technician
- First milestone Enrolled in the HVAC/R certificate program at Pensacola State College for the Fall 2026 term.
- Why it fits me I would rather be paid to learn than pay to learn. The work is hands-on, it is local, and Northwest Florida is not going to stop needing air conditioning. I can be earning at nineteen with no debt. If I decide later that I want to run my own shop, I can add a business degree then, with a trade already behind me.
My alternate · ready, not needed
A backup is only real if it has a trigger and a date.
- The path U.S. Air Force · HVAC specialist (3E1X1)
- Trigger If I have not been accepted into the Pensacola State program by June 15, 2026, I call the recruiter that same week. Not in August. That week.
My next six months
Every step starts with a verb and carries a date.
| Step | By | Done |
|---|---|---|
| Take the Pensacola State placement test | Apr 3, 2026 | ✓ |
| Submit the PSC application and the FAFSA | Apr 17, 2026 | ✓ |
| Shadow a technician for one full workday | May 1, 2026 | ✓ |
| Buy the EPA 608 study guide and finish section 1 | May 15, 2026 | |
| Ask Mr. Delgado for a recommendation letter | May 22, 2026 | |
| Sit down with the Air Force recruiter (alternate path homework) | Jun 5, 2026 | |
| Decision point: PSC acceptance in hand, or make the call | Jun 15, 2026 |
People who can move this forward
Name · what they can actually do · how I reach them.
- 1 Ray W. · owner of the air conditioning shop on Highway 90 · let me shadow a tech, said to call him the week I finish the certificate · (850) 555-0142
- 2 Mr. Delgado · my shop teacher · writes the recommendation and knows the PSC program director · room 114, before first period
What I'm asking from my parents
- Drive me to the placement test on April 3, because I work that morning. And let me put half the pressure-washing money toward my own tools instead of a car this year. I can keep borrowing the truck until spring.
Student
Parent or guardian
Mentor
30, 60 and 90 day reviews
Built by me. Witnessed by my family. The Pathfinder Project · A clear path after high school