When Trent Booza graduated from Penn Commercial’s Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) program in 2016, he couldn’t have imagined how far his career would take him. Today, he serves as the Virtual Design Construction (VDC) Manager at Lighthouse Electric, a leading commercial electrical company in the region. Booza’s journey is a testament to the power of education, adaptability, and passion for design.
Trent’s path to becoming a leader in VDC began with a desire to re-enter an evolving industry. After working as a drafter for 15 years for another company, he noticed the shift toward 3D modeling and realized he needed to adapt to the changing landscape. “The company was downsizing, and I got laid off,” Booza recalls. “I wanted to get back into the industry, and I saw it was going toward 3D modeling. There were programs out there such as Inventor, Solidworks, and Revit was fairly new at the time. So I wanted to get more education.”
Penn Commercial, conveniently located near his home, offered the perfect opportunity. While simultaneously running a side business to make ends meet, Booza enrolled in the CADD program, drawn by recommendations from others and the promise of hands-on training.
“The people there helped me out when I needed it,” he says. “The teachers that were here and the students at the time, we were all able to work in a team environment, so that opened me up to the teams atmosphere, where I’m at currently. Enabling the students to work together on concepts and projects was very helpful. That all translated very well into the company that I’m in now.”
Booza’s career at Lighthouse Electric began during his externship in April 2016. His talent and dedication were evident from the start. “I started my externship in April of 2016 at Lighthouse. So from that point I got hired on as a full-time employee,” he explains. “I started working on healthcare projects. Ruby Memorial Hospital was my first one as VDC. From then on out I basically became VDC lead on that project, which oversees all the VDCs on the job. From that point I became project lead.”
From there, Booza’s role expanded rapidly. He took on responsibilities as a project lead, developed company-wide standards, and played an integral part in onboarding new employees. “I became the VDC manager this year,” he shares. “Over the years, I helped to develop a lot of our standards. I do all the onboarding for the entire company as well, for our VDCs. I’m on the hiring board as well. I sit on the standardized committee. I’m involved with our fabrication department as well. I wear a lot of hats.”
Lighthouse Electric stands out in the commercial construction industry for its commitment to innovation. “We do all commercial work. We don’t do any residential.,” Booza explains. “We are one of the innovators in the industry, where we have taken basic concepts to the next level.”
Trent continues about the process of bringing designs on a computer to physical reality. “Everything we draw is in the fabrication state. We draw everything from inside of our models to the point where it can be fabricated. We take it from a modeling standpoint, create fabrication sheets, send them down to our fabrication department, we build them down there, then we send them out to site. We all work together as a team to get the job done.”
Trent’s artistic background has been instrumental in his success. “I’m an artist on the side. I love to draw and create. Knowing that you can translate that to a mechanical purpose as far as creating anything from engine parts to a building, that is a good realm to get into,” he says. “There’s a lot more you can expand from CAD drafting. There’s much more of an avenue outside of here from a design aspect.”
For those considering a career in drafting and design, Booza emphasizes the versatility of the field. “If they have a creative background, an artistic background, drafting is definitely a place you can go. And as far as technical learning, it’s one of the things that drove me to that area.”
Reflecting on his journey, Booza attributes much of his success to the foundation he built at Penn Commercial.