Donald ‘DJ’ Dabenigno LK ’05

After high school I went to college and hated it. I’m not the kind of person who can sit behind a desk for hours. I left after one semester. After a year of working as a loss prevention officer in a department store, I realized that I was earning a pay check but didn’t have a career. I was tired of waking up every day doing the same routine, punching in, punching out, day after day. I wanted to make something of myself.

I saw an advertisement for the Locksmithing & Security Technology program in the Boston Globe. I didn’t know a lot about it but I’m mechanical, so I thought I’d give it a try. Still, I worried whether I had the stamina to go through nine more months of school.

I applied, was accepted, enrolled and graduated within 12 months. It didn’t even feel like I was in school. I had a lot of fun. The instructors go above and beyond, taking the time to make sure you understand everything before moving on. In fact, they make sure you can do it with your eyes closed.

The school works hard to help you find a job after graduation. I was one of the few who didn’t have a job, but that was my choice. I wanted to start my own business right away. After 3 weeks of no work, I realized I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have a client base. So I worked for another locksmith for a couple of years while I built my business. I made a commitment to myself that by the time I was 24, I’d have my own business and I did it 6 months early.

With Locksmithing, no two days are unlike. It doesn’t feel like I go to work every day. I get up and get to do what I want. If you want a hands-on, out-of-the-box career, if you want to problem solve to help people, if you’re motivated, then Locksmithing is the way to go. It’s a trade that everybody needs and I make a decent living.

Read an interview with DJ published in the Boston Sunday Globe in October 2010, and check out his business, Dabbs Lock.