Like many kids, Tavius Christmas once had dreams of becoming a police officer. But when he began learning about electricity as a student at Chicago Vocational Career Academy, it sparked a new interest. “I was fascinated with understanding how power works and how it’s transported from one location to another,” he says. “The way currents run through wires is amazing.”
After graduation, Christmas took a job in a warehouse with an electrical contractor. At 19 years old, he wasn’t thinking about his next career move. But the owner’s son suggested the electrician’s apprenticeship program. “He told me I couldn’t work in the warehouse forever,” he said. “And I thank him for that.”
It didn’t take Christmas long to realize that he needed to take his apprenticeship seriously. He was learning to work with high voltage, and one mistake could have dangerous consequences. “They show you safety videos of guys being electrocuted, and I was like, ‘This ain’t for me! I don’t want to get killed,’” he says.
Things were getting complicated, and Christmas found it difficult to keep up with the fast pace of the program. At one point, he even thought about giving up. “I didn’t want to hurt myself or anyone else trying to wire something. But an older guy on the job site convinced me not to quit,” he says.
Christmas eventually got over his fear of working with wires and completed his apprenticeship in 2009. Today, he is a foreman with RJL, where he manages a three-man crew working on a robotics lab at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a rehabilitation center in Chicago. Christmas says he’s enjoying the opportunity to learn something new and to understand the importance of electricity to the patients’ rehabilitation process. “It’s interesting to see how we bring power to the robots to make them work,” he says.
Looking to the future, Christmas says he’d like to travel to Africa to learn more about how they are using solar power on the continent. “Right now, everything is going in the direction of solar panels. I’ve been reading a lot about what they’re doing with solar in Africa and how it’s making life easier there,” he says.
Overall, Christmas believes he’s found a rewarding career in electricity and encourages anyone interested in the field to go for it. “Electricity is never going away. You’re always doing something different and learning new things,” he says.