Mark’s success story is quite impressive. He conquered obstacles that would have otherwise thwarted a young adult pursuing a degree in the trades. Mark came to the United States from Nigeria. Not only did he overcome the language barrier, but he adapted to our country’s Imperial system of measurement. Educated using the Metric system, which uses measuring units to count orders of magnitude (i.e. meter, liter, and gram), he graduated from Ranken’s Plumbing Technology Certificate Program Cum Laude in 2019. He now works as a 2nd-year apprentice for Murphy Contractors, the largest mechanical, industrial construction, and engineering company in the United States. Mark’s supervisor, Alex Ivanov, service operations manager for the Murphy Company, shared “Mark absolutely goes above and beyond. He’s always prepared, often researching project solutions after hours.”
Dave Munie, Plumbing Department Chair, tells us, “Mark Ezepue was a stellar student. He is very professional and possesses a great attitude and excellent work ethic. While attending Ranken full time, he was employed at a job where he put in thirty-six hours each weekend and still managed to excel in his studies and meet Ranken’s attendance requirements.”
Mark reflects on his decision to attend Ranken, “Going to Ranken was probably the best choice I made especially as an immigrant who was trying to find his feet in a different environment. I am grateful for making that decision.” He has many memories of Ranken, “. . . especially with my classmates and the instructors who were always ready to help each student irrespective of their race, gender, or academic issues.” In 5 years Mark sees himself as a licensed Journeyman skilled in the plumbing craft.
Photograph was taken pre-pandemic.
Learn more at https://ranken.edu/find-your-career-path/
https://www.facebook.com/MurphyCompanyMechanicalContractorandEngineers/