David Ellis, from Watertown, grew up in Brockton and graduated from Brockton High School in 1979. During high school he studied Mechanical Drawing and Automotive Service and received the Craftsman Award. He always wanted to work on aircraft and become a pilot but being the oldest of seven, money was not available. Instead, David attended Rhode Island Trades Shop School, received a diploma in Auto Body and worked for MAACO, but knew he wanted to switch careers. He worked building marine generators then obtained a license to drive tractor trailers, which he did for the next 17 years. David knew he did not want to drive a truck for the rest of his life and his thoughts kept turning to aircraft. He discussed the option of going to school full-time while working full-time nights with his family. They knew this meant sacrifices, both emotionally and financially for the next fifteen months and little time left to spend with his six children. David enrolled in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program at East Coast Aero Tech (ECAT). He obtained Title IV funding and Federal Stafford loans to pursue his dream career and a night position opened up at work, which allowed him to attend school days. Even though there was little time to study (lunch breaks at school, dinner breaks at work, and even during traffic jams) he maintained perfect attendance and graduated with a 96 GPA. David says he was only able to do all of this with the help of his wife, Sharon, taking care of things at home. Most days, he got home at 2:30 AM and had to be in school at 7:30 AM. David received his Mechanics Certificate in January of 2003 and is now working on an Associates degree at Middlesex Community College at night while working days, since his training at ECAT has opened the doors to other possible careers.