Minuteman Receives $10,000 Donation from Hub Foundation

Photo 1: Minuteman High School accepts a $10,000 donation from Hub Foundation, an organization that hires Minuteman graduates from the Metal Fabrication and Joining Technologies (Welding) program. Left to right are Instructional Aide Sylvain LeBrum, Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon, Welding Instructor Gene Boyd, Minuteman alumni Brad Gradeski (‘11), Dan Mazzola (’12), Jake Littlefield (’11), and Dan DiRocco. Mr. Gradeski and Mr. Littlefield work for Hub Foundation. Mr. Mazzola and Mr. DiRocco are employed by DiRocco Welding, a Hub Foundation subcontractor. (Photo Courtesy Allison Salisbury)

Photo 2: Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon listens to Brad Gradeski (‘11), in red shirt, describe how the Minuteman’s Metal Fabrication and Joining Technologies (Welding) program prepared him for an in-demand career in the trade. (Photo Courtesy Allison Salisbury)

By Judy Bass

LEXINGTON – Minuteman High School was recently given a donation of $10,000 by Hub Foundation Co., Inc., a Chelmsford, Mass.-based full-service drilling company that is a longtime cooperative education employer of Minuteman students from the school’s Metal Fabrication and Joining Technologies (Welding) program.

The presentation of the check was made to Minuteman’s Superintendent-Director, Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon, in the Welding program area of the school by representatives of Hub Foundation and Dan DiRocco Welding, Inc., a subcontractor for Hub Foundation.

Accompanying Mr. DiRocco were three employees who graduated from Minuteman and studied Welding there – Brad Gradeski ’11, Dan Mazzola ’12 and Jake Littlefield ‘11. Mr. Gradeski and Mr. Littlefield, who is a foreman, work for Hub Foundation. Both men belong to the Tunnel Workers Union (Local 88). Mr. Mazzola is a fabricator for DiRocco Welding and works alongside Hub Foundation.

Also present from Minuteman were Principal Jack Dillon, Assistant Superintendent for Finance Kevin Mahoney, Director of Special Projects Maryanne Ham, Director of Community Education Allison Salisbury, Welding Instructor Eugene Boyd and Instructional Aide Sylvain LeBrum.

“We are grateful for the support of Hub Foundation,” said Dr. Bouquillon. How the donation will be used has not yet been determined, he added, “but it will be supportive of the transition to the new building.”

Minuteman is constructing a new, $144.9 million school that is expected to be ready for students in the fall of 2019. Located on the Lincoln side of the Minuteman campus, this state-of-the-art facility will have space to accommodate 628 students and house 16 career and technical education programs organized into two Career Academies, combined with a slate of rigorous, challenging academics.

“We continue to provide well-trained people to the industry, as our sister vocational-technical schools do,” noted Dr. Bouquillon,” They value the skills our kids are learning. The skills are needed and valued.”

Mr. DiRocco discussed key incentives for making a donation to Minuteman, such as civic-mindedness. “We want to give back to the community,” he observed, “and also gain influence in directing potential students toward construction and heavy civil work.”

Mr. DiRocco, whose company has been a subcontractor for Hub Foundation for 20 years and who attended Minuteman for his first two years of high school, mentioned that Hub Foundation President and CEO Jim Maxwell “has always encouraged me to find creative ways to give back to the community and find clever ways to keep young adults interested in the industry.”

Minuteman is an award-winning regional high school that integrates robust academic and career & technical learning to deliver a revolutionary competitive advantage. The school serves a diverse student body with multiple learning styles, expanding opportunities for college and career success. As an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC), Minuteman challenges all students to aspire to their full potential, accelerate their learning, and achieve success in the 21st-century global community.