Student Stories - Gabrial Eldredge

For some, bringing renewable energy to people living in remote areas is an individual passion. For Gabrial Eldredge, it’s a family business.

“My grandfather is in the renewable energy field,” Eldredge explains. “He is installing hydro-wheels along with solar panels in undeveloped areas.” In the next few years, after he finishes CGCC’s Electro-Mechanical Technology (EM-Tech) program, Eldredge hopes to do the same. “I want to travel for work and install renewable energy systems in remote areas to supply villages that don’t currently have electricity with usable power.”

Eldredge didn’t start out his working life in renewables. “After growing up and working in the oilfields, I decided I wanted a different career path,” he says. “I began to talk to my grandfather about what he did in the renewable energy field.”

Eldredge’s family knew he was interested in finding a program that taught renewable energy and engineering skills. So, when his grandmother heard about CGCC’s EM-Tech  program on the radio, she told Eldredge about it.

Soon after, he and his grandfather made an exploratory trip to The Dalles to check out the program. “Jim Pytel and Chris Spengler (two of CGCC’s EM-Tech program instructors) gave us a tour of the labs and shop for the program,” Eldredge says.

However, he was concerned about where he was going to live while he attended school. Eldredge, the oldest of 3 boys raised by a single mother, had spent his life until then in Eastern Utah. “When housing became available it was the most reasonable option for housing in The Dalles for a student interested in CGCC coming from a different area. Once I heard about the housing being added to campus I decided to sign up for the program at CGCC,” he says.

In fall of 2021, Eldredge became the first student to move into the Residence Hall on The Dalles Campus. The facility features student dorm apartments with a living area, bathroom, and two bedrooms in each. There is also a shared kitchen, common areas, a quiet room for study, a laundry facilty on each floor, and designated parking. The cost includes all utilities, and a meal plan featuring between one and three meals a day, seven days a week. Pricing plans and more details are available at https://cgcc.edu/housing
 But what is it like to live there?

“Living in the new residence hall has been a great experience!” Eldredge says. “Being right in the center of the campus I hardly find myself running late for classes and if I have questions, I’m only a short walk away from class or the office. Dan (Piper, Director of Facilities) and Tiffany (Prince, Director of Housing) make living in the dorms worry-free being just an email or call away if I have any questions or problems.”