Tanner Pepper, a member of the Warren Warriors football team, at a game during the 2024 season. (Photo Provided)

VINCENT — With a desire to change some things in his life, Warren High School student Tanner Pepper visited the Washington County Career Center and enrolled in the heavy equipment program.

But soon he found his interests were in another field.

“At Warren I was more of an athlete, focused more on football, and I also played baseball,” he said. “That took up a ton of time, so this past year I kind of focused on football and let the baseball thing go and became more of a high school student.”

Pepper, who will be a senior this year, is a full-time student at the Career Center, where he is an honor roll student. He is the son of Jack and Sara Pepper.

While he is enrolled in the heavy equipment program, he said he does not plan to make that his career choice.

Tanner Pepper is shown on water skis. (Photo Provided)

“I am planning to go to Ohio University to take on a full four-year degree program and become a land surveyor,” he said. “I do not exactly want to pursue heavy equipment, but if it all comes to worse, it would not be a terrible option.”

Pepper said he had not made a decision on what to study at the Career Center until this year.

“I was planning on trying something different so I went to the Career Center to change things up,” he said. “I went to the Career Center, and I don’t regret it a bit.”

Pepper said a conversation with his father helped to push him toward thinking of being a land surveyor.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you job shadow a land surveyor one day?'” he said. “So I did, and it was actually kind of cool. I enjoyed what they were doing, and it changed my mind a little bit.”

Tanner Pepper poses for his high school portrait. (Photo Provided)

Pepper said one thing he liked about surveying was it is a career where he can use math, which was his best subject in school.

“I don’t really enjoy math, but I am good at it,” he said. “I like being outside, and surveying is a lot of math and being outside. It just kind of fell into place.”

Pepper said he knows surveying is not an easy job and there are some papers he will have to write.

“There is not a lot of need for classes like social studies but math and English Language Arts are used in the field,” he said.

Pepper said he has taken college classes at the Career Center.

Tanner Pepper in action for the Warren Warriors. (Photo Provided)

“Last year, I took my college algebra I class, and next year I plan on taking a composition class,” he said. “After that I would go to Washington State (College of Ohio) to do my gen ed (general education) classes to get them out of the way.

“I hope to get my land surveyor license after I get my gen eds done.”

Pepper said taking classes at Washington State while still at the career center will get him to his degree faster and save money. He said his heavy equipment classes will cover elective credits.

“I will be able to go to work as an equipment operator,” he said. “I can pretty much work with anything but a motor grader and a crane.”

In his first heavy equipment class, Pepper said he encountered a piece of equipment for the first time, a telehandler.

Tanner Pepper in action for the Warren Warriors. (Photo Provided)

“That is a thing with four wheels that can move sideways or forward, backward to the other side,” he said. “It was pretty interesting. I never thought I’d be on one of those.”

Pepper is also one of the Career Center ambassadors. Ambassadors help with eighth grade visits, to let students see what the center is like and get a look at the programs. Since they show the students all the programs, he had to take some time to learn what is offered outside his particular field.

“I think welding is pretty interesting,” he said. “If I couldn’t get into the heavy equipment program I would have probably taken welding.”

Ambassadors “work with students from all over the county,” he said, “At one visit, I might have a group from Warren, then a group from Belpre, Waterford or Marietta.”

Jeffrey Saulton can be reached at jsaulton@newsandsentinel.com.

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Tanner Pepper in action for the Warren Warriors. (Photo Provided)