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Kim Escalante-Garcia became the latest Youth Apprentice from Caroline County Public Schools in a signing ceremony on June 16. Escalante-Garcia will start her Youth Apprenticeship on June 18 with Olde School Builders, LLC, in Easton, MD.
Escalante-Garcia is a rising senior at North Caroline High School.
A field trip to the Junior Achievement’s Inspire event in March 2025 led Escalante-Garcia to this point. The owner of Olde School Builders, Craig Postlewait, spoke at the event, and inspired the then high school junior to contact him about a potential job.
In a serendipitous chain of events, the Youth Apprentice coordinator for Talbot County High Schools connected with Eric Cook, Coordinator of Career Readiness with Caroline County Public Schools to match Escalante-Garcia and Olde School Builders. Cook shared that the process to get to this Youth Apprenticeship signing day was the least complicated he’s ever had.
Escalante-Garcia will work in all areas of the construction firm: labor, planning, front office, and perhaps even get insight into how to run a construction company. Her interest in this path comes from, “being hands-on,” she said, “we have chickens, and I’ve helped build the pens for them.”
Dennis Hall, Teacher of the Construction Technology CTE Program, Caroline County Public Schools, said of his student, “It was wonderful to see Kim sign her Apprenticeship agreement. I know she will do well.”
As Escalante-Garcia and her family sat around the conference table to sign the formal Apprenticeship agreements, Cook explained some of the duties that she was limited to perform due to her age. He asked when she turns 18 years old. She replied, “June 16,” and the room was silent as everyone mentally the current date. Almost at once, everyone asked her to clarify if she was turning 18 years old today. She chuckled and said no, in 2026, and the room burst into a spontaneous chorus of Happy Birthday.
The Caroline County Public School Apprenticeship Program (#EarnandLearn) provides students with paid, mentored, real-world learning opportunities. The program is open to Juniors and Seniors ages 16+.
The Apprenticeship Program includes one credit of relevant classroom education and a minimum of 450 hours of PAID work experience. The sponsoring business works with the school system to match qualifying students with work experiences, and agrees to terms of the Youth Apprenticeship program.
