September began with a bang with the stellar Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report. One notable boon was the fact that the larger number of Gen Z thriving in their work are those who do not have a college degree. 

As one publication reported:

That’s the twist playing out across America right now — and the numbers back it up.

A fresh analysis from labor-market think tank Burning Glass Institute finds unemployment among workers ages 22 to 34 without a college degree has rarely been this low in two decades.

It is thanks to original visionaries like Mike Rowe, who almost 20 years ago decided to champion skilled trades and create a scholarship program to encourage young people to bypass a college degree and check out getting a lifetime skill. That vision and ethic of Rowe's has also inspired two young visionaries who help build young people to be ready for those jobs of the future through the simple act of committing to a goal, hard work, and employing life lessons.

Building the next generation is the subject of this week's Feel-Good Friday.

We talk about the X School for Boys quite a lot here at RedState, because King Randall embodies that ethic of social, practical, and theoretical education and life skills needed in the next generation. 

Recommended
Cuba's Power Grid Completely Collapses Nick Arama Clancy Holdout Juror's 'Least Surprising' Claim About Other Jurors Is Perhaps the Most Infuriating Sister Toldjah

Randall started the X School around 2018, and through his determination and vision, it has expanded to include buildings and dormitories, and even branched into an X School for Girls. Embodied in Randall's vision was the desire to see the next generation thrive, and this Albany, GA, native has been doing an awesome job at ensuring this. The school is free for the students, and Randall works with private partnerships, not government handouts, to make sure it stays that way for all the students.

 Randall posted about one of his 2021 students who recently completed Army basic training and is now a full-fledged soldier. 

The power of influence and space to allow growth and becoming is something that is purely analog. You cannot get it by being alone on your phone or watching a TikTok video.

Rodney Smith Jr., founder and CEO of Raising Men and Women Lawn Care, is another RedState fave. Smith is an incredible leader who continues to shape the lives of the next generation, one lawn at a time. What began as a local project turned into a nationwide movement, where young people from ages eight-17 commit to different challenges, the most popular being the 50-Yard Challenge, where the young person commits to mowing 50 lawns for FREE for the elderly, persons with disabilities, single mothers, and veterans. 

Could your child be the next to complete The 50 Yard Challenge? Kids ages 8–17 can join year-round and give back by mowing lawns, raking leaves, shoveling snow, and picking up litter for the elderly, disabled, single parents, and veterans—all for FREE. As they serve, they earn different colored shirts along the way, and after completing 50 yards, they receive a brand-new mower, weed eater, and leaf blower! There’s no deadline and no race to finish. The real goal is to build confidence, responsibility, work ethic, and a heart for helping others—one yard and one act of kindness at a time. Talk to your child today and see if they’re ready to accept the challenge! 💚 Learn more & sign up [here]. 

One of the key elements to this program is it helps build social skills. The kids have to go door-knocking and ask if they can mow someone's lawn or shovel their walk. If you are not a naturally social person, this can be intimidating. But once they have gotten over that hurdle, it helps to build a confidence that also cannot be taught via a TikTok tutorial. They also build relationships with their neighbors and the community that are priceless. Three of Smith's recent 50-Yard Challenge achievers were featured on their local news station.

WATCH:

Smith's program also builds character and perseverance. Young Miles is a great example of both. He started the 50-Yard Challenge three years ago, at the age of 14. He is now 17, and recently completed his 50th lawn, earning him Black shirt status. The before and after photos are also striking to me, because the kid that started the challenge is never the kid you see at the end. It's almost like the challenge forged him or her into what they will become, and it's a powerful thing.

Miles, congratulations—you did it! Three years ago, you signed up to take on the 50 Yard Challenge, and today you can proudly say you finished what you started. The most important part of your journey isn’t how long it took—it’s that over those three years, you never gave up. You kept your goal in sight, kept moving forward, and stayed committed even when the finish line may have felt far away. That says a lot about your patience, perseverance, and character.

Life is the same way—it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Some goals happen quickly, while others take time, but what matters most is that you keep going and don’t quit on something that means something to you. Take that same determination with you into everything you do, and I have no doubt you’ll accomplish great things. “The people who go the farthest are often the ones who simply refuse to stop walking.”

Even more pivotal, this challenge can spark an entrepreneurial spirit. A young man named Bentley did the challenge, and it inspired him to start his own lawn care business — at the age of 12!

It’s hard for me to believe this is the same kid I met years ago who completed our 50 yard challenge by mowing 50 free lawns for the elderly , disabled , single parents and veterans . If there’s one young man I’d point to and say truly fell in love with mowing, even more than I did, it would be Bentley from Fremont, OH. He just turned 12 and hasn’t slowed down one bit. What started as a simple act has grown into something incredible.

Bentley now runs his own lawn business, has built up 48 clients, and even saved $3,900 to purchase his own riding mower. And the most powerful part? He still takes time to mow free lawns for those in need. That’s what this is all about, hard work, dedication, and a heart to serve. Bentley, I’m proud of you… keep going, you’re inspiring more people than you know.

What I most love about Smith is that he practices what he preaches. When he's not driving around the nation, he is right here in Sweet Home Alabama connecting with his community and mowing lawns for people. Smith is truly making a difference, one lawn at a time, and one young person at a time.

As stated above, it is Mike Rowe and his foundation that is the GOAT in building young lives and giving young people wings to fly. Back in 2008, when Rowe decided to launch the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, he didn't know that almost 20 years later, he would set the trajectory for a movement that has finally caught the attention of our federal government.

Rowe decided to remix his original launch video for his foundation with footage showing the powerful progress that has been made, and the young lives that have been changed because of these scholarships. Young people have been launched into a trade where they have been able to delve more deeply into the dignity of work, and built thriving and fulfilling careers because of it.

WATCH: 

I'll end with this terrific post by Rowe about one of his latest scholarship recipients. then wrap things up with my own take on the visionary's accomplishment.

A couple years ago, Mikala Sposito applied for a work ethic scholarship from my foundation. She asked for $2,700.00 to help realize her dream of becoming a welder. (Actually, her first dream was to become an Olympian. As a kid, she excelled at horseback riding, dance, soccer, and track, but not quite at the Olympic level. So, Mikala adjusted her dream and focused on something within her reach. Precisely the kind of commonsense approach to making a living we try to encourage.) Toward that end, Mikala filled out the application, jumped through all the necessary hoops, and signed the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, as all applicants must.

According to our internal ranking system, which is inherently subjective and relative to each batch of new applicants, Mikala scored a 94, and was awarded $2,100.00, or roughly 80% of what she asked for. This is typical of the average percentage awarded to an excellent applicant. As a rule, we almost never award the entire amount requested. We want our recipients to have some skin in the game, and we encourage all applicants to apply for additional scholarship funds elsewhere, which Mikala did. But in this case, if I had it to do over again, I think I’d have awarded Mikala the full $2,700.00. Why? Because this woman is precisely why I award work ethic scholarships in the first place, as recent headlines prove. Headlines all over the country that identify Mikala Sposito as the sole welder to represent Team USA in the upcoming @WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.

This is a very big deal. The World Skills competition is often referred to as the Olympics of the skilled trades, so it looks like Mikala’s dream is coming true after all. And it seems to me her journey is worth a brief encapsulation. Before she applied for a scholarship from mikeroweWORKS, Mikala demonstrated an affinity for welding in SkillsUSA. As a senior at Dexter High School, she won 1st Place at the SkillsUSA Michigan high school competition and went on to place 14th nationally. Then, as a freshman at Washtenaw Community College, she repeated her success by taking 1st Place in the Michigan college division. She then advanced to nationals, where she finished 8th in the country. That earned her an invitation to the Team USA pre-trials, which whittled the nation's top 16 young welders down to three. At the final USA Weld Trials at the Robotics Technology Park in Huntsville, Alabama, each competitor was evaluated on precision, safety, technical execution, craftsmanship, and multi-process capabilities under extreme time constraints. Mikala Sposito took the Gold, officially becoming the first woman to represent the United States in welding at WorldSkills. Next week, she’ll face off against the absolute best of the best from all over the world.

I should point out that Mikala would prefer it if the press didn’t make a big deal of her gender, and I completely understand. (She’s a welder – not a “weld-her.”) But today, the industry is in desperate need of proof that women can and do excel in the trades. Nationally, just 4.3% of tradespeople are female. At mikeroweWORKS, our female applicants are closer to 20%, but I assure you that percentage could be much higher. Companies are anxious to recruit talented welders of any gender, and women need to understand and believe the opportunities are real. Mikala prove [sic] that in spades, and I want to offer her my sincere congratulations, and invite all of you to do the same. Because Mikala Sposito is exactly what our country needs a lot more of. People who understand that talent is never enough to compensate for laziness.

In her application, she wrote, “Hard work beats talent any day of the week, and nobody is going to outwork me. Period.”

She also connected with every point of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge but said the final tenet resonated with her the most. “Some people choose to be lazy. Some people choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.”

My favorite quote, however, is Mikala’s response to seasoned professionals who see her wield a torch and call her a “natural.”

“I’m not a natural,” she says. ["]Far from it. And none of this came easy. I worked and trained 60-80 hours a week for two years to get here.”

Regardless of what happens in Shanghai, the job offers are already piling up, including the most recent from SpaceX. She hasn’t graduated yet, but the future looks bright, and I for one would not bet against her.

PS. I never do this, but since my name is in the title of the foundation, I suppose I can. Mikala – please accept the additional $600 you requested from mikeroweWORKS two years ago. Shanghai is expensive, and since you’re representing all of us, we’d like to provide you with a little walking around money. The check is in the mail.

Now…go get the gold!

As Whitney sang: "The children are our future. Teach them well, and let them lead the way."

I agree with Rowe. It is truly inspiring to witness these kids making things happen. Grabbing ahold of opportunity and the promise of the American Dream can take a young person places that they never expected.