Success Story: Solar Training 2025 Graduate Joshua McCullough
Joshua McCullough has been interested in becoming a mechanic ever since childhood, inspired by watching his grandfather fix anything that broke around the house.
“All my life, growing up, I watched my Papa doing electrical work around the house, playing with little wires and stuff like that,” McCullough said. “When the lights went off, he always knew how to fix it. I remember him as a very handy man, and I always admired that. He owned a mechanic shop on the West Side of Chicago that’s still there today and really inspired me to follow that same sort of career path.”
So, when McCullough learned about Elevate’s clean energy workforce training (CEWT) program, he immediately knew he wanted to get involved.
“When the opportunity came along, I immediately felt like I should cultivate it,” he said.
McCullough is one of 9 graduates who completed the CEWT program in North Lawndale. The program was administered by Elevate in partnership with GRID Alternatives, Sesenergi Eco Solutions, and North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN).
This 10-week hands-on solar installation training program is designed to provide students with the skills and certifications necessary to thrive in the green economy. Participants receive stipends that reflect industry wages along with comprehensive wrap-around support—including transportation, work attire, tutoring, and financial coaching—as they take part in hands-on solar installation training to earn industry-recognized certifications.
McCullough noted the wrap-around services, and particularly the stipend for his time, were what enabled him to participate in the program and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. He attributes his success in the program to the supportive learning environment that his instructors, case managers, and classmates cultivated together.
“The instructors were always happy to help and answer questions,” McCullough said. “Everyone I interacted with throughout the campus was great. It felt like a collective effort, not just a one-on-one sort of experience. It was family-oriented and I felt there were people there to support me with anything I needed help with.”
Since graduating from the program in May, McCullough regularly puts what he learned into practice in his new job at Sesenergi Eco Solutions, where he now works installing solar systems.
“My role at SeSenergi is just immaculate and it really involves everything that I learned in class, as far as putting lighting up, running conduit wires, reading electrical diagrams, setting up conjunction boxes,” McCullough said. “It’s inspiring to work for an up and coming Black-owned company and to be a part of implementing clean energy that saves people money.”
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