Meet Dante: “I Found That I Belong Here.”

Dante M. walked into LEMO USA worried he wouldn't seem competent. Four months later, an engineer kept asking for him by name.

Featuring Dante M.

The thing Dante M. was afraid of wasn't the work.

"I was kind of worried at first, trying to prove that I have some technical know-how. Yes, I know electrical components, I know what they are. That was kind of my worry at first - presenting myself as someone competent."

It's the question almost every student carries into a first professional setting, and it has nothing to do with whether they can do the job. Do I belong here? Will they take me seriously?

Dante joined LEMO USA in Rohnert Park as an operations intern through Path to Purpose, CTE Foundation's internship program. He shadowed workers across departments. He assembled cable parts. He cut and prepped wire for the next stage of production. He learned to solder - a skill he's proud of for a practical reason.

"That has a lot of applications really anywhere."

Then the part that tends to surprise students showed up.

"It feels like I'm actually working as an employee - and then getting a paycheck as well on top of that makes it feel that much more real."

Not the orientation. Not the handshake. The paycheck - proof that his time and his effort had value to someone who was paying for them.

By the end of the internship, the student who'd been worried about looking competent had become the one an engineer kept coming back to.

"One of my proudest moments has been working with the engineer, being able to help him out on different projects - and the fact he's enjoyed me enough to keep asking me to help him out."

He also came out the other side with something he didn't have going in.

"I've been loving it, and I could definitely see myself doing something in the electrical field."

Dante was one of 105 students Path to Purpose placed this past spring, and one of the roughly one in four who were asked to stay on past the internship. He has a reference, a résumé line, and a direction he can picture himself in.

His advice is for whoever comes next.

"If there's one thing I would tell myself coming in - don't be afraid to ask to see new things.” 

Watch Dante’s journey below!