"My first job was the summer before my sophomore year of college. I was working for H&H Masonry on home construction in Fort Myers doing tie beams. Before the roof went on a house, I would help form the concrete on top of the block walls to create a beam around the top of the house to support the weight of the trusses. We used 4-by-8 sheets [of plywood] and would pour the cement to make a solid foundation at the top-called the tie beam-for the roof. We worked on residential homes in Cape Coral and San Carlos. I was paid $4.75 an hour in 1987.

"It was very hot. I grew up in Fort Myers so I was used to it, but I remember one of my friends said before I started the job, 'Make sure you pack four sandwiches.' Spending a day lifting boards, pounding nails in, ripping them down and taking them back to the truck in the hot sun, you burn some energy quick. I played basketball and thought I was in pretty good shape, but after a summer of that, I got in great shape and got a great tan-at the time, those things were important.

"One thing I learned was that effort pays off. At the beginning of the summer I could only lift one 4-by-8 [sheet], but by the end of the summer I could lift four over my head and carry them. I learned that through effort you become more efficient and get stronger, and that applies in the mental sense too-as you read and educate yourself, you become stronger in many ways. Another lesson was patience. At first I hated the job. I remember telling my mom and dad I was going to quit. But by the end, I bonded with the other guys; I enjoyed the camaraderie. I appreciated that we were finishing something, providing a home for someone. I learned that if you have patience and give things a chance, it might be enjoyable down the road."

-Interview by Katie S. Betz