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16:52 PM

Europe/Amsterdam

Article by Richard Guerrero, Jr.

John Adami_Del Mar College December 2024 Welding Applied Technology Graduate

John Adami (Welding Applied Technology)
 

The last time John Adami set foot in a college class, the Persian Gulf War had just been fought, Nirvana was still unknown to most American rock fans ahead of the late September 1991 release of their debut album, “Never Mind,” and fictional cannibal serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter struck fear into the hearts of movie goers who flocked to theaters to see the psychological horror film, “The Silence of the Lambs.”

The year was 1991, and Adami, who was majoring in Welding at Del Mar College, decided it was time to set aside his academic endeavors and focus on earning a living.    

More than three decades later, Adami reached a point in his career where additional advancement required the associate degree he had yet to complete. So, the Oklahoma resident looked to his alma mater to finish what he started.

“In 2020, I was promoted to Quality Control Manager and was made Team Leader for American Electric Power (AEP) West,” Adami says. “I learned that if I wanted to move up any further, I would need to finish my degree. So, I enrolled in online classes at Del Mar in summer 2023 to complete the final five classes in my degree plan, and I’m completing the last class this semester.”

A Corpus Christi native, Adami enrolled at DMC shortly after graduating from Mary Carroll High School in 1985. Initially, he focused on classes in Business Management and Real Estate but harbored a passion for welding. Two of his uncles were welders, and he says that he was fascinated by the things they would build.

“My dad thought welding was a hard job, and he wanted me to do something that wasn’t so hard on me physically,” Adami recalls. “I took several Business Management classes and Real Estate classes, but I just wasn’t interested in them. My heart was in welding, and I finally convinced my parents to let me attend welding school. I picked up on welding quickly because that’s that I was meant to do.”

It didn’t take long for Adami to transition from student to worker. By the time he decided to focus on working full time, he had already used his skills in welding shops, refineries, the oilfield and in power plants.

An exemplary welder, Adami would serve as an instructor for the Craft Training Center and at DMC in the late 1990s before eventually taking a Quality Control position with AEP in 2001. Three years later, Adami accepted a promotion as a supervisor and moved his family to Broken Arrow.

When the time came to re-enroll at Del Mar College, Adami knew just the person he could turn to for help, lifelong friend Dr. Mark Escamilla, the college’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“President Escamilla and I have been friends since Little League baseball,” Adami says proudly. “I emailed him last year and wrote about enrolling back at Del Mar to finish my degree. He put me in touch with all the right people to get my degree plan back on track.”

After 30 years, the rigor of an academic course was a bit of a challenge for Adami. While working on assignments and tests were not altogether unfamiliar, learning remotely was.

“The biggest challenge for me was not being in a classroom environment where I could easily walk up to the professor, ask a question and get an answer right away,” Adami notes. “With online classes, you can ask a question and maybe have to wait awhile to get a response.”

Adami says that he turned to friends and family  to help him get up to speed on technology and academic standards.

“My neighbor’s son taught me how to make YouTube videos for my Speech class,” he says. “And, my youngest son Matthew, who has a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, helped me understand the importance of citing works for my English class assignments.”

For Adami, who credits his family’s support for helping him persevere during challenging moments, he is grateful to have had an opportunity to finish what he started all those years ago.

“I am almost at the end of my work career, but I have another three or four years before I retire,” he admits. “This degree might not get me any further than I am now. However, at the end of the day, I can say I finally finished my degree.”
 

Trinity Storr_Del Mar College December 2024 Biotechnology Graduate

Trinity Storr (Biotechnology)