{"id":6701,"date":"2018-12-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gridalt.wpenginepowered.com\/the-current\/troops-solar-jarrell-stewart\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:57:19","slug":"troops-solar-jarrell-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/troops-solar-jarrell-stewart\/","title":{"rendered":"Troops to Solar: Jarell Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jarell Stewart went into the military right out of high school because he wanted to see the world. \u201cI was a pretty shy kid,\u201d he says of himself. \u201cI had a small group of friends, did okay in school, played football and ran track.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like many teenagers, Jarell was into playing video games and computers. He wanted a career in technology, but honestly, didn\u2019t know where to start.<\/p>\n<p>As Jarell approached his 18th birthday, his hometown of Passaic, New Jersey began to feel smaller and smaller. He became acutely aware he had never really traveled. Sure he\u2019d been up and down the East Coast, but had never traveled outside of the country. The Navy was his chance to travel abroad and get a taste of life elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Jarell\u2019s time in the military did allow him to see the world outside of New Jersey. His 5-year service took him to places like Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, and Bahrain. And it was a big culture shock; \u201cThe McDonald&#8217;s was a lot different,\u201d he jokes. But even more than that, he noticed people were a lot nicer to each other and that made him really enjoy his time abroad. <\/p>\n<p>However, his time in the military didn\u2019t challenge Jarrell the way he thought it would. He knew people from boot camp who made careers out of the military, but that wasn\u2019t the direction he wanted to take. \u201cI had no desire to be alone, out in the middle of the sea,\u201d he says. Plus, although he\u2019d spent much of his adolescent life wanting to go into the tech field, the military prepared him for none of that. \u201cI always wanted to work in technology,\u201d Jarell reflected. \u201cBut while in the Navy I only did basic ship maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jarrell remained in San Diego after leaving the military in 2012. He went on to Southwestern College, majoring in automotive technology. He found part-time retail jobs, but began to feel discouraged. Then he was introduced to Sister Maria Muhammad and I Am My Brother\u2019s Keeper, who mentored Jarell through the process of joining GRID Alternatives\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/gridalternatives.org\/what-we-do\/workforce-development\/troops-to-solar\">Troops to Solar<\/a> program. The 2015 initiative, launched with support from Wells Fargo, seeks to connect U.S. military veterans and active service members across the country to well paying jobs in the solar industry by providing workforce training. <\/p>\n<p>When Jarell first heard about Troops to Solar, he was immediately interested. He knew there would be a chance to get training in solar installation as well as other areas in the emergent solar industry. \u201cI was interested in sustainability because I saw the opportunity to really make a career out of solar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jarell started his 10-week journey with Troops to Solar in October and has participated in dozens of installations. On a typical installation day, he does everything from helping set up the equipment, maintaining safety standards, and even stretching to physically prepare for installing each panel. He\u2019s dedicated to learning as much as possible about the solar industry so he can become well rounded in the field. The more he gets on tops of roofs the more he sees the potential in design, surveying, and other aspects of the industry.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, his time at GRID has really appealed to Jarell\u2019s sense of humanity and desire to give back to those in need. \u201cThe chance to help others really makes me feel important,\u201d he says. Plus, he\u2019s seeing his own personal transformation. \u201cFour months ago, if you told me I\u2019d be up on the roofs, I wouldn\u2019t have believed you.\u201d Panel by panel, the \u201cshy kid\u201d from Jersey is learning how to shine.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Jarell approached his 18th birthday, his hometown of Passaic, New Jersey  began to get smaller and smaller. He became acutely aware he had never really traveled.  Sure he\u2019d been up and down the East Coast, but had never traveled outside of the country. The Navy was his chance to travel abroad and get a taste of life elsewhere.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[],"region":[16],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-6701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","content-type-news","region-southern-california"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Troops to Solar: Jarell Stewart - GRID Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Jarell approached his 18th birthday, his hometown of Passaic, New Jersey began to get smaller and smaller. 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