Student sets fast pace through Duke Energy’s Workforce Initiative

Fladumi Dade is on the fast track! Originally from Haiti, Dade has a background in culinary arts from his home country, but after three years of living in Florida he knew he needed to improve his English skills and earn a high school diploma to expand his career options.

In August of 2020, Seminole State College of Florida received a $10,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to assist adult education students who concurrently enrolled in select non-credit certificate programs. The grant’s goal was to help students in what was then known as the School of Academic Foundations reach their goals of working a fulfilling and lucrative career faster, by enrolling in the workforce certificate programs alongside their classes to obtain their GED or high school diploma.

Dade was one of the students to take advantage of the Workforce Jumpstart program to take the next step in his professional life and expand his options to Go Far. He started Seminole State’s ESOL program in the fall of 2020, and then joined the Workforce Jumpstart initiative by enrolling in his GED Prep program and the College’s HVAC certificate program, a high demand field in Florida, at the same time.

“Seminole State creates a future for students that gives them an opportunity to grow, and that future is what's most important,” said Dade. His goal is to pursue engineering and work for the city someday to give back what Seminole State gave to him.