Love both the trades and the liberal arts? Christendom alumni have proven that you can have the best of both worlds and that a liberal arts education can even give you valuable skills for working in the trades.
Christendom welcomed back alumni David Hambleton ‘05 and John Whittaker ‘21 on October 8 to explain how they mastered this balance. In this semester’s second Life on Tap — a set of interviews with alumni discussing various career options after graduation — Hambleton and Whittaker spoke to current students about how their Christendom education prepared them for their work in the trades.
David Hambleton ‘05 started working in the trades at an early age alongside his father, and is now the co-owner of Hambleton Construction, a full-service home remodeling company he founded with his brother in 2005. He now lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife, Mary, and six children. John Whittaker ‘21 majored in Political Science and is now the Building Operations Manager at Whittaker Construction, an innovative general contracting business owned by him and his brothers. Even while a student at Christendom, John worked for the business, balancing his education with a career that he had dreamed of pursuing since he was young.
After Whittaker and Hambleton outlined their day-to-day work details of home renovation and building, they gave the students advice about pursuing the trades and starting their own companies. Whittaker emphasized the importance of prudently discerning the challenges of running one’s own business and having certainty when pursuing that path, while both alumni recommended students get hands-on experience in trades over specialized classes, whether through summer jobs, apprenticeships, or contract work in a trade.
As Whittaker and Hambleton explained the ins and outs of working through trade levels, getting established with customers, and building their own companies, they praised their Christendom education for the skills it taught them.
“You’ve got to be able to communicate. This is why Christendom is awesome,” said Hambleton, explaining how his Christendom education equipped him with communication skills he employs regularly as he runs his company.
Most of all, the alumni reminded students that hard work and an early start would take them far, especially supported by their liberal arts background, which gave them critical thinking and communication skills.
“At the end of the day, you just need knowledge of the trade,” Whittaker told students. “…You need that and you need to work hard.”
The best advice they had for students?
“The sooner you can do it, the more experience you can get now; it’s going to be better for you later,” said Hambleton. “If you want to get into the trades, start young.”
Both agreed that networking was important in their careers as they developed client bases and built up their companies, with Whittaker saying, “If you’re starting a business, your reputation is everything.”
Christendom’s Career and Professional Development Office offers opportunities to hear from alumni at Life on Tap at least three times a semester. In addition, students are given regular chances to attend relevant career workshops, meet with future employers, secure summer internships, and explore a plethora of career paths before they’ve even declared a major. With the support of the Career and Professional Development Office and an excellent liberal arts education, there is no career path rendered impossible with a degree from Christendom.
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Contributed by Bridget Palm ’28.
