HAVERHILL — Joshua Buffum began a career as a plumber. Then, the world was rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic and he lost his job.
So he changed direction and turned his attention to a dream he had since he was a child struggling in school and receiving help from his teachers.
“After graduating from the Hunking School, a cousin who is a plumber told me how good the work was and my plan was to work for him after I graduated from Whittier Tech in 2019,” he said.
“I did work in plumbing, then COVID hit and there was no work. So in the spring of 2021, I decided to change careers and I enrolled at Northern Essex Community College, majoring in educational studies.”
Buffum said that ever since he was a young boy struggling with academics, he admired the teachers who helped him succeed. He hoped to become a teacher someday and then his career path took another turn.
“All my friends headed to the Tech and I followed along,” he said.
It wasn’t until he lost his plumbing job during the pandemic that he realized it was no longer the career for him.
So Buffum focused on his work with an after-school program at the Haverhill YMCA. It reinforced his dream of helping to support and mentor young people.
“I worked part time and I loved it, so I decided to make my childhood dream of becoming a teacher a reality,” he said.
“I always wanted to help kids who struggled in school as I did and needed extra help from teachers who made me feel like they were really there to help kids.”
Buffum juggled working at the YMCA in the afternoon and evenings while taking morning classes at NECC. He admits struggling during his first semester, but gained support through NECC’s Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence program, or PACE – a TRIO Student Support Services program that helps first-generation, low-income and disabled students graduate and transfer to four-year colleges.
“They helped me out a lot in the long run,” he said of his involvement in the PACE program as a first-generation college student.
“Also, by attending NECC I saved a lot on tuition, fees and traveling.”
Buffum not only found his groove in school, where he was on the dean’s list each year, but the guidance he received through the PACE program helped hone his focus on a career in education.
“It helped me really understand a lot of what it is to be a teacher,” he said.
“I think you really have to have the heart and soul of being one.”
Buffum said his instructors at NECC were “amazing and helpful,” and points to Donna Tanner, coordinator of the Educational Studies Program, as well as his work at the YMCA with kids of all ages.
Now, he’s applying all of those skills toward his goal of becoming a teacher – preferably 11th grade history so he can help students during their crucial junior year as they map out their futures – and eventually move into guidance.
“This fall, I’ll be at Salem State (University) for the 4+1 master’s program in education,” he said.
As he reflects on his time at NECC, Buffum said he will “miss the connections with the teachers I had.”
Perhaps one day, his own students will say the same about him.