by Jeremiah Hatcher
The Paducah Sun
April 25, 2025
Used with permission.
As the end of the 2024-2025 school year draws closer, the Associated General Contractors of Western Kentucky presented scholarships to 29 technical students at their annual Banquet on Thursday.
The banquet recognizes AGC technical Students of the Week. Each year, educators across western Kentucky nominate students for the AGC Student of the Week, which The Paducah Sun publishes. Since the program started in 2017, the AGC of Western Kentucky has recognized 232 students.
Workforce coordinator Joe Crider said the program is needed now more than ever because of the lack of trade workers. According to Crider, the technical field is projected to lose 40% of the workforce in the next 20 years.
Skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters and welders are facing a worker shortage.
Crider believes a generation of workers was lost because of the heavy promotion of attending a four-year college or university. He said on Thursday the industry is trying to “catch up.” The program gives students an interest in trade jobs and exposure to the field and potential employers.
“Many of these students already have their careers laid out for them,” Crider said. “I know last year, some of the sponsors hired students on the night of the banquet…or at least set up interviews, and so they get a chance to meet them.”
Out of the 29 Students of the Week, seven are selected as Students of the Year. From the seven selected, one is honored as the overall Student of the Year for the entire region.
Emma Campbell, a Paducah Area Technology welding student is the winner of the 2024-2025 overall AGC Student of the Year.
Campbell told reporters that winning the title of overall student was a feeling like no other. She received a $500 scholarship, along with a $1,000 scholarship that she intends to use at the Colorado School of Mines. While she excels and enjoys welding, she’s leaning more toward an engineering career.
Campbell wants to become a metallurgical engineer in Colorado.
“I’ve been really into math and engineering my whole life, and it combines my love for metalworking and engineering and all that, it feels like the perfect path for me.”
She wants to contribute to efforts to replenish the industry’s workforce, specifically attracting more women to the fields. With the workforce already in dire need of workers, Campbell hopes to lead by example and use her success with the AGC of West Kentucky as a platform to advocate for women in the trade industry.
“I love encouraging,” Campbell said. “I was a volunteer for the career fair, and I got eighth graders to talk to them about welding. I always push for the girls like ‘You can do it, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t’. I really want to help make it a more inclusive space.”