Spencer Hakes, who recently completed schooling at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, was recently hired by Central Wisconsin Electric Cooperative (CWEC) as a temporary employee working in the CWEC operations department.

With a goal of becoming a journeyman lineman in the future, Hakes said he is excited to be working at CWEC, as it is the first step of him reaching his goal.

“Right now, I’m just learning everything that I can, trying to get to the next step,” Hakes said.

He said he has been learning a lot in his short time with CWEC so far.

His days entail working on projects in the shop area and helping linemen perform tasks in the field, such as replacing power poles and helping with power restoration after storms.

“It’s good to put stuff that I learned in school to actual real use and see how it actually works,” Hakes said.

The experience Hakes is gaining at CWEC will help him in the future, he added.

“I think it will help me get a good start in this field,” Hakes said. “It will help me learn a lot and get me ready for the next step. Just a great building block for my future.”

He added, “I love this field of work, and I’d love to be able to run my own crew and learn all that there is to know about lineman work.”

During his free time, Hakes said he enjoys hunting and fishing.