This year’s election has featured lots of talk about affordability, the economy and job creation. For young people at New Hampshire’s community colleges pursuing a career in fields like welding, manufacturing, and nursing, that debate touches on their own hopes for financial stability — but in other ways, it misses the mark.
With Election Day approaching, NHPR’s Olivia Richardson sat down with students at Manchester Community College and NHTI in Concord to ask what they made of the current political moment — and their own futures. Here’s what they had to say.
An orthopedic technician and a librarian focus on the present
Quinn Melendez said he chose his field of study at NHTI for stability. He’s preparing to be an orthopedic technician. It’s a job that’s in demand, and the field is expected to grow relatively fast.
“It is little schooling and a lot of pay for a little schooling,” Melendez said. “So get your feet in the door, in the workforce.”
He’s seen people struggle to find jobs, but he says he's thinking less about big life events like buying a home.
“I always hope for the best, but I’m going to look out for myself first. I'll figure out how to support and secure myself and then I'll think about family,” Melendez said.
He says he doesn’t think politicians are looking out for people like him.
“Oh, probably not. No, no, I don't think they will,” Melendez said. “But you know, you gotta do what you can. So even though I don't really have a lot of hope in our politicians, I think I at least have hope in my peers and my community.”
Melendez still plans to vote — and so does his friend Sue Williams, a liberal arts student at NHTI, who wants to become a librarian and community organizer.
Williams said they are interested in those fields because with rising disinformation, especially with the growth of AI, they want to help people in their community navigate it. When it comes to politics, they’ll vote even if they don’t like all the options.
“If you have to choose between a literal rock that does nothing or, like, John Evil, I'm gonna go with the rock because they're not gonna rock the boat,” Williams said. “They're not gonna do anything good, but they're also not gonna actively erode our institutions and make our lives worse.”
Manchester Community College students feel solid in their career choices
Sam Howe, an automated manufacturing student at Manchester Community College, has housing on his mind.
“If you want to talk political climate, that's something that worries me is: Will I be able to buy a home?” Howe said.
He said he’s glad he chose a career in the trades, because the skills he’s learned will help him save money by doing his own home repairs one day.
“You walk around a house, there's almost nothing I can't fix,” Howe said. “I know what's behind every wall. In most houses I walk into, I can either know it or figure it out and I think that someday that's really going to come in handy.”
Liv Hassapes, a welding student, came to MCC after leaving a four-year college. She had no experience in welding prior to her first classes, but she knew right away she wanted to continue studying the trade.
Hassapes said she wants politicians who will implement more programs to help students get degrees.
“I feel like a lot of politicians don't really care about the education system as much as they should,” she said.
Henry Niemann, also a welding student, got into the field after building wild hog traps in Alabama where he’s from. He declined to talk about where he sees things politically but he’s thinking about his future and it might involve robots: He gets to work with one at MCC.
“Having a robotic welding unit just seems interesting to me,” Niemann said. “Then the idea of watching an entire room of nothing but robotic welding, arms flailing about, doing their thing, and knowing that I'm one of the ones that made that happen. I like that idea.”
While the students don’t know exactly where their education choices will take them, they’re definitely planning ahead.
