Danny’s Closing Remarks

Thank you, 100%.

Last time we had a guest speaker by the name of Maj. Thank you. He had a very difficult past—really troubled—and it took him 72 job applications before he finally found the job that was perfect for him.

They’re out there. Just don’t give up. You’re going to stumble—we all stumble—but it’s how you get up.

Fall forward. Denzel Washington said that. Fall forward.

And then, you know, there’s The Equalizer—that other video—just stand. Don’t fall. Just stand.

Speaking of standing… is there anyone else who would like to say anything before we go to the next phase?

Good—because I’m getting hungry.

Danny (Instructor):
And it’s not just the sacrifice of the individual — the whole family, the wife, the kids — everybody sacrifices. It’s hard. You’re away for six weeks, fully committed to studying and hands-on training.

But it’s a powerful experience.

I want to point out something important. We have four instructors in this program: Christopher, who couldn’t be here tonight, Andrew, Robert, and myself. We all have very different teaching styles and personalities — and that’s intentional.

I want that variety. Because when you get out there in the field, you’ll be working under all kinds of senior techs, company owners, or mentors — and they’re not always going to sugarcoat it. Some, like Andrew, have a potty mouth. But that’s real life. That’s the job.

From day one, I’ve told you — I don’t treat you like a student. I treat you like you’re already on the job. You’re here to learn how it really is out there.

So now… let’s see who’s coming up next.

Danny:
“Zachary, I appreciate your attendance. You were here every day. It’s a long drive. I appreciate your input and everything that you’ve learned here. So, I want to ask you to come up here, accept your certificate in recognition, and say a couple of words.”

[Applause]

Zachary Mattingly:
“Thank you. Okay… well, at least I get to do mine first.
No, I gotta say, this program has been pretty spectacular.
Andrew, Danny, Chris especially, Rob’s been great—everybody’s been great.
All the fellow classmates have made these last six weeks go by incredibly fast.
Everybody has been so nice.

And they’re not lying—
they pack a lot of information into those six weeks,
and I’m still catching up with it.
You know, I hear stuff they said three weeks ago and I’m like,
‘Oh yeah… okay.’

But yeah, I mean, it’s been pretty great.
And thank you.
Thank you all.”

[Applause]

Danny (Narrator):
“One of the things we’re proud of at HVAC Technical Academy is that we listen to what the community needs.
One company told us straight out—’If your graduates can’t cut the boards and make the right boxes, don’t even bother sending them.’
Well, we do. You do. You deliver. That’s what matters most.
There’s a great deal of confidence here, and I’m incredibly proud of you.
This class would not have been the same without you.
So, Stephen, please come on up here.”
Applause

Stephen (Attendee):
“All right—first of all, I want to say thank you to everyone.
To my family—Lord have mercy, they’ve had to deal with me! I’ve been explaining heat pumps, straight cool systems, all of it.
When our unit went out at home, I had just finished learning about compressors. They probably looked at me like, ‘Okay, HVAC school guy, when’s it turning back on?’
Crazy thing was, just after I said the compressor was bad—it came back on 12 hours later. So I went from Clark Kent to Superman—only after it fixed itself!
I came in with this gentleman named Straight Cool Connor. We showed up on the same day and saw Danny, and I swear, he was probably looking at me thinking, ‘This guy’s so old he could sneeze dust!’
And I looked over at Straight Cool and thought, ‘Yeah… he’s kind of old too.’ But really, I was talking about myself!
Then I heard Robert talk about age, and I felt right at home.
To the rest of the folks, Lord have mercy, I wanted to baptize everybody twice a day—and myself four times a day. But I’ve been through this before.
Raising kids? Same thing. It’s like hitting the reset button over and over.
Some of these students? Especially my buddies to the left and right? They used to drive me crazy.
But I had fun. We joked around. Every time they asked, ‘How are you doing?’ I gave them the same answer: ‘Blessed beyond measure.’
And that’s how I feel.
If they need anything in the future, they know they can call me.
And yes, I accept Cash App!
Thank you very much. I appreciate all of you.”
Applause

📝 Web Transcript – Danny Introducing Sharmeka

Danny (Narrator):
*”You’re quite welcome. Thank you. And thank y’all.

Now, I do have a couple of people who aren’t here this evening—people I knew wouldn’t be—so they don’t get to share in the festivities. That’ll teach them a lesson.

But the next individual…

This is someone who showed up every single day—an hour early.

Not necessarily to study—but to make coffee.

In all the classes I’ve ever done, I’ve never had to go through so much coffee as I did in this one.

And the screener? Don’t even get me started on that.

But let’s see what all that energy and commitment has done for her.

Let’s roll Sharmeka’s video.”*

📝 Web Transcript – Danny & Shameka Armstrong

Danny (Narrator):
“Very confident. That was an excellent job. I’m very proud of you—you’ve learned a great deal.

I remember in the very beginning, I had a lot of concern about you breaking out of your shell—just like most everybody.

But you did. You have.

And there are a lot of wonderful things that are going to happen in your life—as long as you… as all of us… stay on that path.

And I’m not going to mention the four C’s, because I told Elaine I wouldn’t bring up clarity, choice, confidence, and competence…

But you’ve developed those.

So come on up here and share some of that clarity with us.”*

[Applause]

Shameka Armstrong:
*”I will trip—I’m not used to this.

I just want to say thank you to all of them.

And being here early—it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be.

They’d say, ‘Hey, come on out here early!’ and I’d end up standing in the heat an extra hour more than the rest of the guys.

But I will say this—I also want to thank my uncle for being there for me… we interpret.

And I love Karin. Karin is my new best friend.

I appreciate everything she’s done for me throughout this class.

And everybody—I enjoyed all y’all.*

Now I gotta get on my…”

[Applause]

Danny (Narrator):
“Fantastic job. Thank you. Come on up here, please.”

[Applause]
[Music]

Karin Smith:
*”Okay…

I am truly grateful for this journey and the wisdom and knowledge I have learned from this.

It really has been a challenge, and I thank you for everything.

Even Chris—who’s not here—all of you… thank you so much.

And I hope prosperity and patience for your path forward.”*

[Applause]

Jonathan Harold – HVAC Technical Academy Completion Speech

“Six weeks isn’t a long time, but this place really makes it feel like it is. You learn a lot in six weeks.

When I came here, I didn’t know what a capacitor was. I didn’t know what an accumulator was. I didn’t even know what the compressor did in the system.

But here I am—standing here now—I know the refrigeration cycle backwards and forwards. I’m overwhelmingly confident. Maybe even a little too confident in what I know so far.

I’ve been unemployed for five months. I’ve been struggling to find work, putting in application after application every week, and getting nothing back—not even a phone call.

But now, with this under my belt, I feel like there’s finally a path forward.

So thank you—Robert, Andrew, Elaine, Chris, and of course, Danny. Thank you.”

Danny:
“Good job. Good job.

Now, the thing about everything we do—literally everything—whether it’s changing the condenser, the fan motor, capacitors, or even dealing with smoke… all of it—you’re going to be doing it. And you’re going to feel confident about it.

So, come on up here and say a couple of words.”

Deante Herrero:
“Thank you… get outta here.

Okay—uh, I just want to thank everybody: Danny, Andrew, Rob, Chris, Elaine… thank you, guys.

I know it hasn’t been easy putting up with me. I literally have nightmares—especially if you’ve got a heat pump, you’ll understand.

And I want to thank everyone in the program, too. We really worked as a team. Everybody helped each other. We got through it together.

So yeah… I really appreciate you guys, too.”

Danny:
“Good job. Good job.

Now, the thing about everything we do—literally everything, whether it’s changing the condenser fan motor, capacitors, or dealing with smoke—these are all things you’re going to be doing. And you’re going to feel confident about that.

So, come on up here and say a couple of words.”

Dawin Guillaume:
“Thank you.

Okay… I just want to thank everybody—Danny, Andrew, Rob, Chris, Elaine—thank you, guys.

I know it hasn’t been easy putting up with me. I literally have nightmares… if you have a heat pump, you’ll understand.

I also want to thank everyone who was in the program. We really worked as a team. Everyone helped each other, and we got through this together.

So yeah—I really appreciate you guys.”

Danny (Narrator):
“Work as a team.

Recognize that on the very first day, it’s 10 individuals. And it’s funny—they’re very quiet, very isolated. Little islands.

But two or three days later, maybe a week in, that all changes. They’re not just classmates anymore—they’re friends.

They start building relationships—not just with the 10, but with others in the program as well.

One of the individuals who really stands out as an example of that growth is Dawin Guillaume.

Let’s see what he has to say.”

Danny:
“Good job. Good job.

Now, the thing about everything we do—literally everything, whether it’s changing the condenser fan motor, capacitors, or dealing with smoke—these are all things you’re going to be doing. And you’re going to feel confident about that.

So, come on up here and say a couple of words.”

Dawin Guillaume:
“Thank you.

Okay… I just want to thank everybody—Danny, Andrew, Rob, Chris, Elaine—thank you, guys.

I know it hasn’t been easy putting up with me. I literally have nightmares… if you have a heat pump, you’ll understand.

I also want to thank everyone who was in the program. We really worked as a team. Everyone helped each other, and we got through this together.

So yeah—I really appreciate you guys.”