Finding the Right Path with Scott Martyn from USW/Cleveland Cliffs Local 1688 - Steelton

 In this episode of Success with ICD, we sit down with Scott Martyn of USW Local 1688 to discuss his incredible journey through the steel industry, layoffs, career changes, and lifelong learning. From starting at the Steelton mill in 2015 to navigating multiple layoffs and eventually discovering a passion for occupational safety and training, Scott shares how determination and education helped him continually reinvent himself. Through the ICD program, he explored everything from mobile crane operation and CDL training to cooking classes and college coursework, ultimately finding a new career path as a safety instructor while pursuing a degree in Occupational Safety and Health. Scott’s story is an inspiring reminder that learning never stops and that investing in yourself can open doors you never expected. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to your favorite podcast. My name is Jennifer Van Dyck. Um, and I am with somebody, we haven't gotten anybody from this union yet. And I'm pretty excited when I reached out to my guest that he was all for it. He was ready to tell his story. He's been working with us, and um, we've already talked a little bit about what he's doing now. And let me say it is very interesting, and I'm intrigued to see how his path has gotten him from point A to point B. So without further ado, I would like my special guest to please announce himself to our Success with ICD podcast. The floor is yours, my friend.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Thank you. My name is Scott Martin. I work with the local USW 1688 out of Steelton. Uh unfortunately, we were some of the ones that just lost our jobs due to the downsizing of the Cleveland Cliffs mill. So it's it's been a rough, it's been a rough path, path.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Which we're gonna talk about that. I mean, you know, Dave Myers is your coordinator and yes, what it it closed, it kind of, you know, crap hit the fan a year ago now.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Uh July 1st.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Yeah, so almost a year.

unknown 1:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

So it's just when he called and kind of said that out of the blue. I can't imagine what the mindset with all of you guys and what you were going through at that time. But we're gonna we're gonna talk about that in a second. I first want to talk about where your story began. So, as a steel worker, how long have you were you a part of Steelton?

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Um, I actually joined the steel mill back in 2015. Uh I had gotten a call from Dave himself saying, hey, there's gonna be a posting on CareerLink. You know, you've got an hour from the time that post goes up till it comes down. He's like, be there. So I posted on there. Out of 300 applications, I was one of 18 people that actually got hired through that posting.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Holy cow! Why do you think that was? Why do you think you were one of the few selected?

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Uh honestly, I'm not sure. I there was a lot of things that went into the selection process, like your test scores through CareerLink. Uh, did you have family working there? Did you have previous manufacturing? And did you have military background? And the only thing I had was my test scores. That was the only thing that got me in there, other than maybe Dave put in a good word for me.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

But hey, that always helps, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

So, what got you? What made you want to apply? So, did obviously you just said you don't have family that works there, so you're a first-generation steel worker. What made you want to choose that path from where you came from?

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Uh, to to be honest with you, it to start out, it was the money. I mean, the money, you couldn't beat the money without having an actual college education. You know, I've worked in multiple different fields, and I just I've never had a path. So at that point, it was like, hey, the money's good. What can it hurt?

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Oh, nice. I mean, it is true. You can't really beat that salary for everything. And you said that you never really had a path. Um, is that something like because you've never really found your passion? You've never really found something that um kind of struck a chord with your heart. Why do you think that was?

SPEAKER_02 3:47

It just I never knew what I wanted to do. It was one of those things I've like I said, I've been in multiple different industries, and you know, you enjoy something for a while, but you just hit a point where you can't go any further. And I never I never liked settling with what I had. I always wanted to do more.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Is that kind of is that kind of been in you for your whole life, or did that kind of come out of you as you got older?

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Well, it's pretty much been that way my whole life. Anytime I get a chance to learn something new, I I take that chance.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

So you're you're a risk taker almost.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Uh very much so.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Is that kind of like how your family is, or are you kind of the black sheep of the whole family?

SPEAKER_02 4:32

I am definitely the black sheep of the family.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Which you know what? That I feel like that if you don't know your path now and you find your path later, that kind of makes your story come full circle. So you you got hired in 2015. What did you think of becoming a steelworker? What did you think of the job and where did you start?

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Uh at first it was overwhelming because you know, not being in that type of industry, and it's it's kind of daunting when you look at it because you get into this industry that you just think, oh, everybody is you know, these big, tough, burly people, and the work is extremely hard, and the conditions are terrible. And really, once I got in there, it was uh completely opposite of what I thought.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Tell me, tell me about your experience.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Uh so part of it was when I first started, I actually started down in the caster with uh a group, and it was definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I mean, there were people there from all walks of life, there were people that you know had come from successful careers, there were people that had never really had a job before. There was, you know, the multi-generational steel workers, so it was a much different crowd than I was expecting. And then when it came to the work, it it showed me that there wasn't just, oh, you're gonna do one thing. No, there's multiple things that you can do here. So that intrigued me.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

I was gonna say, from someone that sounds like you don't settle and you're a risk taker, being a steel worker kind of seems right up your alley because there's so many different avenues you could go down.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Um, there was uh more than I could have thought.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Which were you pleasantly surprised then of the change that very much so. What um, so you went from that first job. Where did you go next? Did you just try as many as you could, or did you find something that was kind of your niche?

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Well, um, when I started in the caster, it was pretty much uh what they call a caster attendant. Basically, where we're tending the steel and making sure that it got out the door properly, and moved up into what they called the uh tundish lead. That is the guy that is basically leading the lining of all the equipment that they're pouring the hot steel into. So that was definitely an exciting jump, and it I enjoyed it. There was multiple facets to just that job. But unfortunately, in 2016, we had a crash, and me and a lot of other people were unfortunately laid off at that point.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Oh, so this isn't the first time you've been laid off.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

No, this isn't the first time.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Oh my goodness. So, what did you do in 2016? You finally found something that you thought, okay, this is good, and it got ripped from you. What happened?

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Well, being laid off in that period, I ended up going through career link and unemployment for the TAA program. And they actually found work or not work, but an education for me. So I took another free education and I ended up getting my CDL class A and my heavy equipment operator. So I moved on to that industry.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

I was gonna say, so you kind of found the platform of what you wanted to do through the steel worker, you got your CDL license. It at this point, did you ever hear of ICD or didn't did it come later?

SPEAKER_02 8:32

It came later.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Okay. So when you first got hired, did I C D ever come across your your line of vision?

SPEAKER_02 8:40

No, because it was one of those things it was kind of mentioned, but it was never actually promoted.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

So it wasn't one of those things that I really thought about.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

Okay. So you really didn't know what it was at all. But you still went, you still got free education when you were like so. How did you get back into Steel Tin? What did that hole look like?

SPEAKER_02 9:04

So uh towards the beginning of 2018, after I'd gotten my CDL, I was working for a concrete company down the road, and I got a call from one of the union representatives saying, Hey, they're opening back up. We need people to come in. You know, they're bringing people back, and you are you and your group are the ones that are first dibs. So I went, I ended up quitting the uh trucking job and went back to work at the steel mill.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Is that because you enjoyed being a steel worker so much, or you you were kind of sick of the the trucking job?

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Uh honestly, if it hadn't been the fact of the uh free health care that is supplied, I'd have probably stayed with the trucking.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Really?

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

It was it was kind of your way of life, huh?

SPEAKER_02 10:05

Yeah. It was one of those things.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

You got a little bit of a nomad spirit.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

I do. So which is kind of surprising that I've been with you know, with the steel mill for almost 10 years.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Which I mean, which means you really liked it. There's something that really you know drew you to it. Um, and that's kind of what I'm getting out of this. You have a really you have a travel type spirit and a nomad heart, but you stuck with Steelton. Um, and it sounds like they did you wrong a couple of times.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Uh, I mean, it's business. Uh steel is such a volatile business, it's hard to say whether it's going to be going today or if it's gonna end tomorrow. So it's it's one of those things you got to take the leaps and bounds.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

See, no, that's that's a leads me into my next question. Because you got laid off in 2016 and you got rehired, was it ever in the back of your mind that, okay, this job may not last forever. I need to, I need to figure something out, or was it kind of, I'm just gonna ride this, you know, ride this like the wind until it ends?

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Uh actually, when I came back in 2018, I started looking into you know what different options there were. That's when I really started looking into the ICD program.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Okay. And what intrigued you about ICD?

SPEAKER_02 11:30

Well, the thing was, when I came back, I started back in steelmaking, but they said we can't keep everybody, so we need to send you somewhere. So I put in a bid to work in the crane unit. Uh, when I got that bid, I started looking at different crane options, like what can I do with this when or if this place shuts down again. And talking to one of the gentlemen at the union before Dave was in charge of the ICD, uh, he was telling me about a mobile crane class that he could get me into. So beginning of 2019, I actually went through ICD. I took a week's vacation from work and went through ICD and did the initial parts of the mobile crane.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

So you used an entire week of your vacation to take this class?

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

When you were done with it, did you ever regret it?

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Absolutely not. I still have the books from it.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Really?

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Now, as you were taking the class, was it something what about that class made you stick with it? Because a week-long class, that kind of grueling, a lot of people wouldn't finish it. They would probably think it's not for me, and they would kind of cut out. What made you stick with it?

SPEAKER_02 12:51

For me, it was I wanted to know more. I always want to learn more. I won if you're gonna teach me something for free, I'm gonna do it. So that for me, that's what it was.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

I should make that into a t-shirt. Um so you kind of like, would you say when you got the free education the first time and when you used ICD this time, your thirst for knowledge kind of grew? Or have you always been that way?

SPEAKER_02 13:26

I've kind of always been that way.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

You know, teach me more.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Love that. So, okay, you you finished your crane class, and then how did that kind of go into your work job, your career?

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Well, what I was trying to do was I was trying to get through that claim, that crane class uh because I mean I was working with the cranes at the mill, so it just seemed kind of like a progression.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

And what my plan was was to try to maybe get with one of the maintenance departments and get some skills with the mobile cranes in order to, you know, finish the whole certification, and then I could have been an even bigger asset to the mill. Unfortunately, that didn't quite come around. But I mean, it was one of those things that, hey, you know, what else can I do with this ICD?

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Now, did it did it not happen because of just circum like certain circumstances?

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Uh, you know, I really I think it was just because they the maintenance department at that time wasn't looking for anybody.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

So it the timing was just off. I mean, I never stopped bugging them about it, but which that's pretty sure the guy in charge got irritated with me, but you know, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Hey, you know, squeaky wheel gets the oil, right? So, no, I respect that a lot. So you kind of had that in your back pocket. You had your CDL in your back pocket. What was the next thing that you wanted to learn? Because it sounds like you weren't gonna stop. You just don't seem like that type of person.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Well, for me, at that point, uh I ran the crane for like two years. And then the guy that uh was scheduling the crane unit, he was talking to me and said, Hey, you know, I know you love the cranes, but I think you should put in for this job down here. He's like that, you know, in the one other department. He's like, I think you'd be really good at it. I ended up putting in for it, I got the job. I ended up over the next two years uh climbing from you know just a ground worker all the way up to uh a job class five, which was a senior operating tech. And I was pretty much running the shift at that point. And then shortly after that, he the guy that was doing all the scheduling decided that he wanted to move on to something new and put a bid out for his job. I was like, scheduling and payroll for 145 people, show me. I ended up, I ended up getting that bid, and from that point on, it was kind of uh, you know, I was learning everything about that job. But I mean, in between all of this, I was kind of using the ICD to take side cooking classes because that was one of the passions that I also have. I do love to cook. So I was, you know, taking cooking classes along with everything else I was doing there.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

So you've got a hobby of cooking.

unknown 16:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

What kinds of things did you learn how to cook through ICD? That that one surprises me, I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Um there was a couple different classes. Uh, one of them was a knife or a chef knife skills class. They actually taught you how to properly use a knife and which knives to use for. Uh, there was a couple classes to learn how to make like Mediterranean dishes. Oh, that's fun. Uh one of them was for like different sausages. They taught you how to make sausages on your own and how to use different sausages and dishes. So it yeah. Was it a skill that I was gonna use if the mill closed? Probably not, but I mean, it's it was still a skill that I wanted to learn and it it could help in the long run.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

So do you think, in your opinion, it's important to build skills both personally and professionally?

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Do you see 100%?

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Why, from your point of view, is that is that so important?

SPEAKER_02 18:03

Because you can't sit there and base your life off of you know, work, work, work. You have to have some type of homework balance. And if you don't have time to learn something for yourself, what's the point of working?

SPEAKER_00 18:22

I could not agree more. I love how you how you said that. Again, there's so many things that you're saying, Scott, that should be on a t-shirt. Um so you're taking I'll tell everybody. I know that's your new job.

unknown 18:34

No.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Um, so you're taking cooking classes, you're in a a pretty good position, you're non-stop learning. Did you ever feel like, okay, this I could be here forever?

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Honestly, no.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Still not. Okay, how come? Like you just, you know, still kind of that nomad spirit was in you.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Well, it was one of those things that I pretty much hit the peak of where I could go inside of the union.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

And if I wanted to go beyond, then I would have had to have quit the union or put in for a salary job. And you know, to be honest with you, I don't I don't want to do a salary job because it it's just not the thing I like. But I mean, working in that almost HR role, there was a lot of stuff there that I still had to learn, and I was content, but I knew that it this is that was it. That was as far as I could go with the steel mill. So and um it would I have been content there for another 20, 30 years? Probably not. I'd have probably given that up and gone and found another job somewhere in the mill that I could have learned something new.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

I I find that so fascinating. So, how long were you in this position for?

SPEAKER_02 20:09

Um before it closed, probably about six months.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Okay. And you were already, you were already starting to think, okay, what's next?

SPEAKER_02 20:19

Yeah. I mean, I was already putting, I was already putting in bids for uh another position that I was interested in because one of the guys that was in that position wanted to learn the scheduling and payroll position that I was in. Oh, that's so it was one of those things that you know, once I can go over there and learn that, then you can come over here and learn this. And we can flip-flop whenever we get bored.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

That's so funny. I love that. So you're in this, you're in this for six months, and then you get the notification that Steelton is closing.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Was that something that kind of came out of the blue? What was that whole experience like?

SPEAKER_02 21:04

To be honest with you, it as much and I hate to say this, but as much as people want to deny it, the writing was on the wall for a while.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

No, we just say that.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

With Steelton, the way we were running and the fact that we hadn't been profitable, it was just unless we could have turned something around, it I there's no company in the world that's gonna continually lose money on a company just because of you know nostalgia.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

Okay. So it wasn't that huge of a surprise to you because of what you already saw.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Right. Um I know there were a lot of people there that were completely taken off guard, and it's like, what what did you expect?

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Do you think it was more because they do you think it helped that you saw things that way because you weren't so Invested or it wasn't multi-generational. This job for you, like you were always kind of looking of where you wanted to go next. Do you think that kind of helped your mindset through this?

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Um, that and the fact that they'd laid me off once before.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

So I once that first layoff came and I came back to work there, I never really like settled in to okay, we're gonna be here forever. I mean, it as much as I would tell people, hey, look, this place has been around for a hundred years, it'll be around a hundred years after we leave, you know, it's it's still the reality of life. If it happened once before, it's gonna happen again.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

I mean, that's a great point. It's something to keep in the back of your head. And I feel like it's happening more often, um, just because of the day and age that we're in, which is unfortunate. So, with you, you got laid off. What what was next? What did you do?

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Well, for me at that point, I mean, uh, my health care is covered for a good bit of time. I'm getting unemployment, I'm getting subpay. I was like, what can I learn now? What is out there for me to learn? What can I use this ICD money for to you know further my education?

SPEAKER_00 23:24

And what did you choose?

SPEAKER_02 23:27

Well, it just so happened that there was a course uh that was given by the Employment Skills Center here in Carlisle. Okay, and it was an environmental technician training, and it just so happened to line up that I got laid off July 1st. That course was starting up like July 17th. I'm like, uh this couldn't be any better timing.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

It was like a no-brainer for you.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

Yeah. So I signed up for that course. I took that course that was seven weeks. Uh, and I learned so much, and I'm like, okay, this is what I want to do. This is the direction that I want to go. Now I know what I can where I can put the ICD money.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

So then what was next? You finished the course after seven weeks, and what'd you do with it after?

SPEAKER_02 24:22

Well, that was kind of the funny thing because the I think it was the third week in, we were doing a uh first aid class. Well, it was a Haswab per 40 class and it had a first aid class in it. And at the end of the first aid class, the instructor came up to me and said, So, do you think you could do that? And I'm like, do what, teach or give first aid? Absolutely. I could give somebody first aid. She's like, No, would you be able to teach it? I'm like, what? Wait, hold on. What do you what are you talking about? So, yeah, over the next couple weeks while we were finishing up the course, uh, I started a an employment uh application with them, went through a couple interviews, actually gave a 20-minute presentation in front of a couple people that worked there. And late October they gave me a job offer.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Wow. And was it something that made you say yes?

SPEAKER_02 25:30

Oh, absolutely. I I'm like, yeah, I'm I'm definitely in on this one. But yeah, once I once I figured out what I wanted to do, I actually started looking at online colleges where I found Columbia Southern, and you know, I put in for that. I was talking to Dave, you know, we got all the paperwork together, you know, and I've been using the ICD as much as I can to pay for most of my college schooling.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

So, what are you gonna go for Columbia Southern? What degree?

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Uh, occupational safety and health associates.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

And is that because of the things that you learned right before?

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Uh, part of it was because at the steel mill, one of the things that interested me was the safety aspect of it.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

And being able to uh train like the new hires coming into departments, you know, this is bad, this is good, watch where you're going, everything will kill you. Yeah, you know, it it was one of those things that I liked training those new people. So I when I was offered the job uh as a safety instructor, I was like, uh yeah, definitely, I I could do this.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Would you say this would be the job that you could stay the longest at?

SPEAKER_02 26:59

Well, that's kind of the funny thing because initially the idea was that I would come on as a part-time trainer and use some of those certifications that I learned through that environmental tech class to do other things within the company. And it it got to the point where I looked at my boss and I was like, hey, look, you know, it I'm not training every day. I'm sitting at my desk staring at my computer screen, trying to find something to learn. I'm getting bored. And he's like, Well, we have a 10-day bridge inspection class coming up. Why don't you take that one?

SPEAKER_00 27:45

And let me guess you did it.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

Uh, it starts on Monday.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

That you're just never going. I don't I don't see you ever stopping. So you're going after your degree right now.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

Uh-huh. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

You're taking this bridge class, bridge safety. You're also a trainer.

SPEAKER_02 28:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

And you don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

Nope. I've got the information uh today to apply for my certified industrial trainer certification. Uh yeah, there's a couple things coming down the pipeline, but I mean, it's it's an engineering company. So my boss is like, look, if you've got free time, go over to the bridge guys, go over to the road guys, go over to anybody that you want to and hang out with them. You know, pick their brains, do what you want. He's like, it this you have just scratched the surface. And I'm like, I am seeing that.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

It's like the challenges that kind of it kind of intrigues you, the challenges that could be in your future.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

That's 100%.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Love that. Well, one of my last questions for you, Scott, is all of these different um classes and the degree that you're going for now. Would you have done that without the ICD benefit?

SPEAKER_02 29:16

I probably would have. But I mean, having the ICD benefit is so great because you see so many people that go take college courses and they try to get degrees and they have to work so many more hours. And then once they do graduate, they can't find jobs with those degrees, and then they struggle to, you know, just pay those degrees, pay for those college loans on top of trying to survive. I mean, having the ICD money, that is, I honestly wish I'd have used it a lot more, a lot sooner.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

Which I feel like the reason why people don't is because they don't exactly know what it entails. Like you said before, it came across your line of vision, but you really didn't know what it was. So it wasn't something that you were diving into. Um, and I think you make a great point too. Like without the ICD, people still would go after certain things. But with the ICD, it's either you can go that much farther or the burden of finance of the finance part gets you know lifted a little bit more. So I'm glad, I'm so glad you were honest about that because a lot of people think, oh, without ICD, I wouldn't do it. Oh no, people who are passionate about what they do will still go after it. But I CD is there to help as much as we can.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Um, I'm so excited for you and everything that that's happening. I feel like we need to do a part two after you graduate and get all these different, you know, the next time I talk to you, you're probably gonna have at least four or five degrees.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Well, I am slated to I'm I'm hoping with some of the other certifications that I've been getting in the meantime that I can add them to my college credits. And if I can get like three more college credits covered, then that puts my graduation right around June or July of next year for my students.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

That's amazing. Oh my goodness, that's amazing. That's fantastic. So the last question that I want to ask you before we end is what would you say to someone now that said I C D is not for me? There's no use for it. What would you say?

SPEAKER_02 31:37

What I would say to them is first off, you're crazy because one of the biggest things that we can do in life is just continue to learn. And if I'd have thought about it, you know, six years ago, I would have started, you know, my preliminary college courses then, like my physics and my maths and my readings. You know, I would have used the money that I had available for me at the time to take care of those. That way, if I ever did find out what I want to do, I've already got those prereqs taken care of. Because it's not like you have to take, you know, two courses every semester or three courses every semester, you know, just take one. You know, they're not that expensive, which kind of surprised me. I my uh one class from my college is less than $900 a quarter. Yeah. So I mean, with the ICD money, if I'd have been using one class every semester or every quarter, you know, it I would have been over the ICD limit, but at least three of them would have been paid for right off the bat.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

I'd have never had to worry about them. And now I'm taking two courses a semester, and the ICD money does help, but I'm still going to be left over with an amount that I do have to pay. So for anybody that's you know thinking about it or on the edge about it, I say just you know, take one class at a time.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

You know, you never know.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

Take it, do it.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

I love it.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

Take your basic classes.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

Thank you so much, Scott. Um, for anybody who has questions for Scott, or if you have any um, I guess, yeah, questions or comments about his story, go ahead and email me at jvandyck at icdlearning.org. Or you can respond to any of our Facebook posts or Instagram posts. Um you know, if you have something specific for Scott, we will definitely ask him and get back to you on that. But right now, we're just so thankful, Scott, for you coming and giving us your time and telling us your story. I know it's probably going to be inspiring to a lot of people who feel stuck, um, not quite sure.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

If I can help one person move forward, then I did what I came to do.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

I love it. And I I truly appreciate it too. So, Scott, thank you so much. Um, we'll do a part two when you graduate and we'll see how far you go. And uh, for everybody else, thank you so much for listening.