{"id":7243,"date":"2023-01-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gridalt.wpenginepowered.com\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:24:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:24:37","slug":"gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Khalil Faison won\u2019t stop talking about solar. Since he graduated from the Solar Works DC program in December 2022, it\u2019s been his favorite topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always talk about it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn’t matter if I’m at work, with my family, I’m talking about solar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khalil, a District native, started at Advanced Solar<\/a> in Landover, Md. less than a month after graduating from Solar Works DC. He loves it.<\/p>\n

The days go by quickly, his starting hourly wage is the most he\u2019s ever made, and he\u2019ll be eligible for a raise after 90 days at the company.<\/p>\n

He likes his co-workers, too: \u201cWhen we’re in the warehouse, I’m laughing. I could come in grumpy, but when I hear someone I’m laughing,\u201d Khalil said. <\/p>\n

“I was kind of lost”<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Six months ago solar hadn\u2019t been on Khalil\u2019s mind at all. He was ready to start his career \u2014 he just didn\u2019t know which way he wanted it to go. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have always liked animals, but I didn\u2019t want to go back to school to be a veterinarian,\u201d he said. \u201cI stopped playing sports, so I couldn\u2019t say I was going to be an athlete. I was kind of lost.\u201d <\/p>\n

No path felt like the right path, so Khalil bounced around frequently looking for something new. It made him feel like he wasn\u2019t able to finish anything he started. <\/p>\n

Then his friend Kevin urged Khalil to look into the workforce development opportunities at the DC Infrastructure Academy (DCIA). Khalil was one of the final trainees to join the Solar Works DC training cohort last fall. <\/p>\n

Reginald Black, a workforce development specialist for DOES<\/a>, approved Khalil\u2019s application to enter the program. He had one condition: \u201cYou gotta promise me you won\u2019t quit,\u201d he told Khalil.<\/p>\n

“You don’t just get a career\u2014you get a new family”<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Khalil and his fellow trainees started the program without much knowledge about solar, but they quickly bonded. They kept up with each other in a large group chat that still is lively today. <\/p>\n

He also connected with GRID Mid-Atlantic\u2019s workforce training staff: Dominique Leake<\/a>, Michael Gaskins<\/a>, and Kennard Carter<\/a>. All three were Solar Works DC trainees before they became GRID staff members. Now as training supervisors, they are teaching the next generation of solar workers. Khalil saw numerous similarities between their journeys and his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really feel like the program was one of the best things to ever happen to me,\u201d Khalil said. \u201cWith the program, you don\u2019t just get a career \u2014 you get a new family, someone to talk to when you need help. Once you\u2019re in it, you\u2019re in it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Khalil was in the program, something clicked. He found what he was looking for. He found more reasons to stay than to leave. And he realized there was more within him than he knew. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know I\u2019d be this person who loved solar so much,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the people around me \u2014 Miss Domo, Mr. Mike and Professor K \u2014 I really think they brought stuff out of me that I didn\u2019t know I had. I already had others pushing me, I just had to do it myself. I was used to not finishing things, but this time I had to see things through.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

View this post on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by GRID Mid-Atlantic (@gridmdv)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

Solar Works DC is part of DOEE<\/a>\u2019s Solar for All program<\/a>. Solar for All seeks to provide the benefits of solar energy to 100,000 low-income households and reduce their energy bills by 50% by 2032. The program, which was established by the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Expansion Amendment Act of 2016, is funded by the Renewable Energy Development Fund (REDF).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Khalil Faison was ready to start his career… he just didn’t know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[20],"region":[65],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-7243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","content-type-news","focus-area-job-training","region-mid-atlantic"],"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":"\nGaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GRID Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1919\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":646,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1919,\"caption\":\"Khalil holds his certificate after graduating from the Solar Works DC program.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/es\\\/the-current\\\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/\",\"name\":\"GRID Alternatives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives","description":"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives","og_description":"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.","og_url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/","og_site_name":"GRID Alternatives","article_published_time":"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1919,"url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC","datePublished":"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/"},"wordCount":646,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg","articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/","url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/","name":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC - GRID Alternatives","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2023-01-24T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-16T21:24:37+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Khalil Faison was ready to start his career... he just didn't know which way he wanted it to go. Solar Works DC opened his eyes to a career in solar.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/img_2935-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1919,"caption":"Khalil holds his certificate after graduating from the Solar Works DC program."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/gaining-new-family-and-career-solar-works-dc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gaining a New Family\u2014and Career\u2014in Solar Works DC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/#website","url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/","name":"GRID Alternatives","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7243"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10656,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7243\/revisions\/10656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"content-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-type?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"focus-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus-area?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=7243"},{"taxonomy":"content-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-author?post=7243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}