Announcing the 2018 Smart Service Scholarship Winner!

Dominic Velasquez of Cabrillo College takes home the 2018 Smart Service Scholarship!

At Smart Service, we proudly serve the hard working professionals of the field service industry. Working with these pros all day every day has instilled us with a great respect for the work they do and the role they play in keeping society humming. In an effort to give back to these stoic individuals, a few years ago we established The Smart Service Scholarship.

The Smart Service Scholarship awards $2,000 every year to a student intending to pursue a career in a skilled trade or field service occupation. Sadly, few financial aid programs focus on these specializations, so we wanted to step in and help fill the void.

After scrutinizing the credentials of dozens of qualified, enthusiastic, and worthy candidates, we settled on a scholarship recipient for 2018: Dominic Velasquez.

Dominic Velasquez studies welding and pipe fitting at Cabrillo College. On the subject of his chosen profession, Dominic is quite eloquent. “People sometimes look past opportunities because there is a social stigma about those who get their hands dirty. We often reject what we are most passionate for, but life is meant to be enjoyed in every aspect, including your career.”

For Dominic, no other job ever made sense. “From an early age, I was a curious little boy who would follow my dad around while he was tuning up his 1948 Chevy Pickup. I remember just wanting to be a part of bringing the car to life. I went ahead and grabbed a wrench, then waved it in the air not knowing what it was for yet. From that day forward my father had me tag along in every project he did, from holding a box of nails to dragging a shovel in one hand and a tape measure in the other to desperately trying to balance a wheelbarrow full of cement.”

“The opportunity to create something great and useful is everything to me; being able to contribute both creativity and ingenuity and all the possibilities that come with this type of work is truly remarkable. You can build anything you want right in front of your eyes.”

“People think I’m crazy for wanting to work with my hands, but I’ve never been afraid of a little hard work. We should all have the opportunity to do what we are most passionate about. I just happen to love working with metal.”

The Smart Service proudly stands behind Dominic Velasquez as the winner of the 2018 Smart Service Scholarship.