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An Unlikely Journey to Becoming an Electrician

BY IEC STAFF 

Growing up in small town Long Prairie, MN, on a 20-acre farm, Gideon Yoder couldn’t imagine that he’d become an electrician. Or, even use electricity.  

“I was born into an Amish family,” he says. “There was no running water in the house, no electricity, and we used a horse and buggy for transportation. I grew up on a small farm, and we always had animals. We raised our own chickens, and beef and pork. We had big gardens and were self-sustaining.” 

Gideon says his early education was great with all eight grades in one schoolhouse usually with just one teacher. With about 60 families in the community, there were multiple schools to serve them. But it was not a lifestyle he was comfortable with and at 20 years old, he decided to break from the Amish community. 

“Many of the church rules didn’t make sense to me,” Gideon says. “No television, no electricity, no running water. We weren’t allowed to drive cars, but we could ride in them. We weren’t allowed to own cell phones, but we could use them. I felt kind of trapped where I couldn’t be myself and I didn’t want to be two people. I started exploring something different for my life.” 

He decided to leave the community. He knew what might happen, and it did happen. His parents excommunicated him so he can’t go see them or his four sisters and five brothers. Another brother had left the community four years earlier, and Gideon reconnected with him. 

Taking Those First Steps 

Knowing he would be on his own and need to support himself, he secured a construction job in Long Prairie before leaving the farm. He enjoyed the work and did it for about five years. 

“At the end of five years, I was thinking I really don’t know if I want to be climbing around on roofs and all that too much longer, so I was looking at options,” Gideon says. “I had some friends in Wahpeton, ND, actually my adopted family, and they had a kitchen remodel done. They learned that the electrician on that job was looking to possibly hire some people.” 

Gideon wasn’t sure that electrical was for him, but his friends continued to encourage him. 

“I was making decent money doing construction and I knew the pay would go way down at first if I made the move,” Gideon remembers. “That was stopping me a little bit. But I had an interview with my boss and he said I could try it out and see if I like it.” 

He decided to give it a try. Gideon says he was the pack rat those first days — unpacking lights, cleaning up, and crawling into dirty crawl spaces pulling wire.  

“I enjoyed being able to see the lights come on,” he recalls. “When you flip that switch and the lights come on, that’s exciting. That got me hooked, and I realized this is something that I can do. It’s rewarding to watch your work result in something that works and looks neat and nice. It’s something to be proud of.” 

Taking that trial began his journey at Muehler Electric and in the IEC Apprenticeship Program at IEC Dakotas. 

Becoming an Electrician 

Scott Muehler is the owner of Muehler Electric, and his investment in Gideon has paid off. Gideon just passed his North Dakota / Minnesota journeyman’s exam. The small company currently has two apprentices working with them. 

“I’ve been doing this work for four years now and as time progressed, I started getting into more motor controls and scratching the surface on PLC programming, and I’m very interested in learning more about automation and bringing that added value to the company,” Gideon explains.

Jeff Kirstein, executive director of IEC Dakotas, was impressed by Gideon’s exceptional record as he progressed through the IEC program. 

“He was an online student for four years and consistently got exceptional grades,” Jeff says. “He was always number one or number two in his class. He recently competed in our chapter’s Apprentice of the Year competition and came in second.” 

Gideon attributes his accomplishments to his personal values and the quality IEC program. 

“I would say that I’m focused on doing my very best at all times,” he shares. “There were times when I thought there are other things I could be doing on my weekends that would be way more fun than studying. But I knew I had to get the homework done. I do not like to get behind. 

“Having weekly class on Zoom helped me stay focused, because I knew that was my opportunity to interact with other students and the instructors. The instructors were always there to encourage us and help in any way they could. I liked that I was working full time for the hands-on experience and going to school for the book side. I’d study something in class and then a day or two later, it would show up at work.” 

Gideon is grateful for the mentor he found in Scott.  

“I started out with no electrical knowledge whatsoever, and he hired me,” Gideon says. “I had to go online and watch a few videos about how to connect an outlet before I started. Scott saw value in my self-motivation and continues to help me learn.” 

Gideon also appreciates the schedule at Muehler Electric. His normal work week is four, 10-hour days, Monday to Thursday, so he has three-day weekends every week. This fits his passions of exploring nature, going to the lakes to kayak, swim, and water ski. He also enjoys running and biking through the beautiful countryside. He works hard and plays hard. 

Continuing to Grow 

“This has been a journey — and a very rewarding journey — that has taken me to this point,” Gideon says. “I could not have done it without the instructors in the IEC. And Jeff was always so helpful too. This is a point in my life where I’ve completed school, and now I can move on to the next thing. I got my journeyman’s license which I wanted to do right away while all the information was fresh in my mind and I was very fortunate to be able to do that.” 

At work, Scott can now send Gideon and the two apprentices on jobs allowing him the opportunity to take care of the business back in the office. Gideon appreciates the opportunity to help the apprentices along and finds watching them progress and grow rewarding.  

“I went through that! The one guy I’m teaching now is in his first year in the IEC program, and he knows I was there just four years ago,” Gideon notes. “He sees in me what he can achieve in four years if he stays dedicated and puts the work in at school and on the job.” 

Gideon enjoys sharing his knowledge as much as he enjoys continuing to learn new skills. He plans next year to take his master’s license exam and one day he’d like to own his own company. Until then, he’s continuing to challenge himself to learn new things. 

“Troubleshooting is one of my favorite things to do,” he says. “Solve the problem and get it to work — to have the knowledge to do that makes me look like a genius! I always want to continue to grow. Technology is always changing and I want to stay on top of that and move forward.” 

Gideon also is committed to encouraging others along their journeys. 

“Anything is possible when you set your mind to it,” he says. “I grew up Amish with no electricity and now I have my journeyman’s license. I was able to set my mind on something and follow through on it and not get too distracted in my progress. I’m happy that I’m now a part of pointing others in the right direction while giving them the chance to figure it out. That’s fun.” 

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