Will McCormick has had more jobs over the years than many people have in a lifetime -- and even now, he’s working toward another career that he has long dreamed of. “I’m not afraid of change,” he said. “It’s hard to transition, but once you catch on you realize it’s not so bad.”
After McCormick graduated in 1994, he took a job at Sikes Movie Land in Dublin. He worked there for about 8 months, until he found a new position at Golden Peanut, out near Comyn.
After four years there, McCormick wanted to find a job in Stephenville. His mother was sick at the time, so he wanted to stay close to her nursing facility. He ended up at Poston Feed Mill, where he stayed for another four years.
After Poston Feed Mill, McCormick worked at the old peanut mill in Dublin, but when the business went under he had to change jobs again. He started at Walmart, and then his brother Coy McCormick helped him get on at St. Gobain. From there he went to Fibergrate Composite Structures in Stephenville, then to Big Lots, and then to Tim’s Concrete in Dublin.
Earlier this year, McCormick started a new job at Rent-A-Center, a company that allows people to rent name brand furniture, electronics, appliances, computers & smartphones on a rent-to-own basis.
There, McCormick works as an account specialist. “I take people’s payments, help them get new agreements for their furniture, and do deliveries,” he said. “It has its ups and downs just like any other job, but I enjoy the people I work with.”
McCormick also stayed on at Big Lots, where he works one day a week as a sales associate.
Even now, McCormick has his eyes on his next career change. “One of the things I want to do is get my commercial license so I can be a truck driver,” he said. “My dad was a driver for 40 years. He drove for Mayflower and Atlas Van Lines, and when he passed away, he had a jacket and he had like 20 different patches on his jacket because he drove the entire fleet for Mayflower.”
When McCormick has time off, he enjoys reading and working on art projects. “I like to draw and sketch comic characters and stuff like that,” he said. “And I’m a pretty good handyman. I like building stuff, painting stuff.”
He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Samantha McCormick, and daughter, Devonna. McCormick and Samantha met working at St. Gobain. “I was always kind of jealous of my brother because he had a wife and kids and all that,” McCormick said. “But my brother said to me, ‘You know what? You don’t have to look -- someone will find you.’ And sure enough, that’s what happened.”
The McCormicks have been together since 2006. Devonna, Samantha’s daughter from a previous marriage, is now a senior in high school. “She’s fixing to graduate, and we are so proud of her for that,” he said. “I’m really fortunate to have my family.”
McCormick’s greatest source of inspiration throughout his life has been the wise words of his mother, father and stepfather. “They’d always tell me, ‘Don’t think about what you should have done -- just keep moving forward and don’t look back.”
Growing up in Dublin was an experience that McCormic remembers fondly, from playing in the game room across from where Sikes used to be, to getting to know his neighbors.
“I had one neighbor who made me a cake every year for my birthday, and I’d always say ‘You didn’t have to do that,’” he said. “And one of our other neighbors, she had an apple tree, and we’d always go pick apples off her tree and make homemade apple pie. There are a lot of good people that live in Dublin.”
McCormick’s advice to Dublin graduates is to face change with a good attitude -- and if you want something, go get it. “Set your mind on your goals and go for it,” he said. “That way there’s no regrets later on in life.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.