Custodian Who Graduated From WPI After Nearly 10 Years Cleaning School Gets Engineering Job
WORCESTER (CBS) -- The custodian who graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute last month after spending nearly a decade cleaning the school now has a job at an aerospace firm, the school said Monday.
Michael Vaudreuil, 54, who earned his degree in mechanical engineering this year, has been hired by aerospace company Pratt & Whitney as an engineer on the company's Production Integrated Product Team.
Excited to announce @WPI grad Michael Vaudreuil's new job @prattandwhitney #hardworkpaysoff https://t.co/LGn7OdBqcA pic.twitter.com/O4y0KUpIDH
— WPI News (@WPINews) June 20, 2016
"I feel like I kind of won the lottery," Vaudreuil said in an interview published Monday on WPI's campus news publication, The Daily Herd.
Vaudreuil told WBZ-TV's Christina Hager last month that he took a job as a custodian at WPI shortly after losing his home, business, and life savings in the recession in 2007. Once there, he took a tuition-free class the school offered to its employees. He was introduced to the world of lab work, and designed his own prototype of a reusable dust fuel cartridge.
Great story @cbsboston @HagerWBZ Custodian Graduates From College He Spent Nearly A Decade Cleaning « CBS Boston https://t.co/IEcSElcQbh
— WPI News (@WPINews) May 13, 2016
Eight years later, he graduated with a class of students less than half his age.
Pratt & Whitney said Monday they are "proud to add Michael to our talented team!"
We are proud to add Michael to our talented team! #WeArePW https://t.co/PVxOyWMjWG
— Pratt & Whitney (@prattandwhitney) June 20, 2016
Vaudreuil credits his new gig in part to the media coverage he received.
"To the degree that it took off was a bit surprising," he told The Daily Herd. "It was almost an out-of-body experience. You see this happen, things go viral—now it's happening to me."
He says he will continue his custodian job at WPI through June.