Quinton Bratcher spent enough summers in a ditch to appreciate the view from a bucket truck. 

“There’s a whole lot more wind coming by you in that bucket than there is in the ditch,” said the 2026 Madison County High School graduate. 

Quinton went from a cap and gown to a paying job with no gap in between. He is an intern with Jackson EMC, where the crew is teaching him the trade from the ground up. 

“Basically, I just feed them wire, set up for them and hand them the tools and what they need when they go up in the bucket,” he said. 

HireSmart Cares, which helps young people move from high school into good-paying careers without taking on college debt, provided Quinton with a $250 voucher for work boots through its Foot Forward program. He got a pair of Georgia Boots. 

“I’d like to thank y’all for the pair of boots I got,” he said. “I’ve been wearing them out.” 

The internship is paid, and Quinton said the crew he works with told him he would be among the first people called if an apprenticeship opened up. They also put in a word for him with Rayle EMC, where he has applied for an apprentice position and where the linemen have already heard he is a good hand. 

“I would be the standard apprentice,” he said. “They’ll let me do work in the bucket, but I have to be with somebody, and line has to be dead. And let me climb poles and all that.” 

He credits Madison County High School agricultural mechanics teacher Josh Daniel, who now teaches construction, with giving him the foundation. 

“He was by far my favorite,” said Quinton, who is pictured with Daniel at the career signing day. “He taught me how to do residential electricity, how to weld, how to use saws, drills, any power tools.” 

He also worked alongside his father doing construction during school breaks. 

Quinton wants to become a lineman and spend his years in Madison County. His parents own five acres and have offered him two and a half of it if he builds on it. 

“I would like to have my own house,” he said. “I’m trying to get one, at least by 21.” 

His advice to students younger than him is simple. 

“Just get out, get outside, start working as soon as you can,” he said. “Don’t drop out of school or whatnot, but during your summers, go outside, get used to the heat, get used to cold in the winters.”