Wondosen Geberetsadeke, or Wondo, as he likes to be called, is a long, long way from his home in Dessie, Ethiopia. He is a 2014 graduate of the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Academy, where he studied plumbing and tile setting. Upon graduating from the program, the go-getter acquired two jobs, Berry Plastics Corporation and Unique Tile and Marble in Evansville, IN. Last week, Rob Guenthner, the tile setting instructor at Earle C. Clements, met with the owners of Unique Tile and Marble and they had high praise for Wondo. They said he is their top earning employee by far, and if they had more than one Wondo, they wouldn’t need as many other employees. They even admitted that without Wondo, they would have to restructure the business, with both owners having to put in more hours.

When Unique Tile and Marble got started ten years ago, Wondo was one of their first employees. He worked two jobs so he could send money back home to his family in Ethiopia. Eventually, the owners nearly doubled his pay, so he would work full time for them exclusively. Even after sending countless amounts of money back to Ethiopia, Wondo still managed to purchase and renovate a very nice home next to the golf course in Evansville. Guenthner said he saw pictures of the tile work, which rivals his own work. He said he can only take credit for introducing Wondo to the owners of Unique Tile and Marble, as Wondo was an exceptional student who already had some construction experience when he entered the program. He further stated, that this kind of success story is what keeps him going as an instructor at Earle C. Clements.