Gerry is now the proud owner of his own company Gerryn Energy. Named after his son, the company prides itself on being a full-service electrical shop with a vision of a greener tomorrow.
Gerry’s path to being a business owner wasn’t always an easy one. His story is one of perseverance, second chances, and a lot of dedication and hard work on his part.
In high school Gerry was an honors student taking challenging classes such as honors calculus. He also excelled at baseball and was named 1st Team All State. He received a ¾ college scholarship and then things fell off. Gerry’s mistakes led to felony charges, that changed his life.
Fast forward to 2010, Gerry learned about Constructing Hope from the neighbor across the street from a house he was renting with some friends. Gerry enrolled in the Winter 2010 Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program, which set him up for the success that was to come. As he says, “bad things can turn out to be blessings in the end if you stay focused.”
During his time at Constructing Hope, Gerry interviewed with Nick Armstrong at Solar City. In a second interview, he was asked to take a math test, and due to his advanced math classes years before, he aced the test and was offered a job. He graduated from Constructing Hope on April 16 and began his electrical apprenticeship at Solar City on April 18, at 24 years of age. After four successful years, he finished as a Journeyman Electrician. About that time Tesla purchased Solar City, which made Gerry a Tesla employee. For four years he was a Journeymen Crew Lead, leading a team that worked on solar, energy storage and electrical vehicle charging.
Outside of work, a lot was happening in Gerry’s life during this time as well. In 2011 he got married and welcomed his son in 2013. In 2014 Gerry and his wife purchased their first home. When he was hired with Solar City he was given a significant amount of company shares, which was his first introductions to stocks. He sold ½ of the stocks to purchase his first home. In 2016 Gerry faced another challenge, when he was diagnosed with MS. He began fusion treatments every six months, which left him feeling fatigued and low on energy. Even still, he still held down his work.
Unfortunately he ended up being placed on medical leave, when a new manager was hired, but Gerry used his time wisely. He studied and took the test to receive his Signing Supervisor License. About this time the COVID-19 virus became an issue in our society. Gerry was being sent to jobsites that required travel out of town to virus hotspots, and with his compromised immune system he wasn’t comfortable with the potential exposure.
This led Gerry to research what he needed to do to start his own company. He became licensed, bonded and insured. With the help of his wife and son, he created a logo and Gerryn Energy was created.
When speaking at our March Mentoring Event, Gerry shared this with other graduates and current students, “I’ve been so blessed. If you stay focused and aim high, you can reach anything. I promise you. For me, it all started at Constructing Hope.”
