Sixteen-year-old Mason Slater walked into O&G’s South Main Maintenance & Repair Facility this summer with a simple motivation: big machines. An 11th-grade automotive student at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, Mason was eager to trade textbook diagrams for the scale and complexity of the real thing. “I wanted to work on big equipment,” he says. “I find it very cool and interesting.”
Mason joined South Main through Oliver Wolcott’s Work-Based Learning (WBL) program: an initiative that places eligible juniors and seniors with local employers during their trade instructional time so they can earn both wages and credit while gaining experience aligned to their career pathway. O&G participates as a host employer in this program, creating paid, supervised opportunities that benefit students, businesses, and the community.
South Main delivered. Over the course of the summer, Mason rotated through work on mixers, big trucks, and trailers—getting his hands on the systems that keep O&G’s fleet moving. There wasn’t one singular breakthrough he points to, but rather a steady accumulation of confidence and capability. “It wasn’t a particular task,” he explains. “I’m proud of learning a bit of everything.”
That breadth didn’t come instantly. The toughest part, Mason admits, was learning how each piece of equipment worked, and how all the pieces fit together. Repetition and time, paired with patient coaching, turned confusion into fluency. “After a while, you start to catch on more and more,” he says.
The contrast with the school shop was immediate. The equipment at South Main was bigger, heavier, and more complex than what he was used to – exactly the challenge he wanted. “I experienced a lot bigger equipment working in the shop than I do in school,” Mason notes, “and I find more interest in those things.”
What made the difference, he emphasizes, was the team. “They were very supportive, and they were all very helpful,” Mason says of the O&G mechanics who guided him through each task, answering questions and showing him how to approach problems safely and systematically.
The experience has already shaped his trajectory. Mason now sees his future in heavy equipment, and hopes to keep building that future with O&G. His advice to other students considering a work-based learning placement is straightforward: “Take the opportunity to work for them and learn as much as you can.”
Mason’s summer proves what happens when curiosity meets real-world opportunity. Thanks to Oliver Wolcott’s Work-Based Learning program, and the patient mentorship of O&G’s South Main mechanics, he’s leaving with stronger skills, bigger goals, and a clear path into heavy equipment. We’re grateful for his contributions and proud to be a partner in shaping tomorrow’s talent.
