Saulih Khalifah, a 19-year-old carpenter apprentice, is helping complete the final stage of a $400 million transformation project at the Wells Fargo Center, writes Matteo Iaonisi for the WHYY.

“I would have never thought I was going to be a carpenter,” said Khalifah. “I played basketball in high school. I went to college for basketball.”

He learned about a pre-apprentice job from his brother when he first started working in high school. He signed up for labor-intensive work at the Wells Fargo Center that included changeover and trash duty. Throughout it all, he kept an eye on the construction workers and realized he wanted to learn more about the trade.

He soon found out about the Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program, presented by The Carpenters Joint Apprentice Committee of Philadelphia & Vicinity, the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, and the General Building Contractors Association, and he decided to join.

After several weeks of classes, Khalifah needed a place to get work experience. Wells Fargo Center recognized his hard work from before and decided to sponsor him.

Now, he is working on finishing the event-level transformation at the center.

Read more about Saulih Khalifah in the WHYY.

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