Learning new job skills can make all the difference for prison and jail inmates about to be released and a program at the Duchesne County Jail is proving to be a cut above the rest thanks to its amazing instructor. UBTech’s Residential Construction program taught by Ken Pugh teaches inmates the construction trades by building actual homes that then become the homes of Uintah Basin low-income residents. The homes are constructed on site and then transferred in two parts down the highway and pieced together at the property using a crane. Clearly the program is a blessing to many but those involved say that instructor Ken Pugh is doing much more than just teaching construction skills. One graduate, who wished to remain anonymous, put it this way: “The program builds men, not just houses. The participants build self-confidence, self-respect and self-worth.” A UBTech press release shared multiple examples of how Mr. Pugh is changing lives for the better including the following: Jeremy Dool keeps his Uintah Basin Technical College Residential Construction certificate displayed on the wall of his office. He is proud of it and tells people that he “is from UBTech.” He sounds like a typical graduate, until you learn that he earned his certification while serving prison time at the Duchesne County Jail…Today, just a year after his release Dool is employed as a construction superintendent. He was at the job site of the $140 million construction project he helps oversee while being interviewed for this story. He attributes his mighty change of heart and bright future to the mentoring and education he received through UBTech’s Residential Construction program and instructor, Ken Pugh. “In prison every single person you encounter treats you like a monster. Ken did none of that,” Dool said, adding that at first it came as a shock. “When I got to Duchesne, I was actually treated like a human being again. I was amazed at how good of a person Ken is,” said Dool. “He is a master carpenter, pure and simple. His teaching and his interpersonal skills far exceeded anything I could possibly get. It was not just the learning; it was the atmosphere he creates. The peacefulness, that caring – he cares about you. It catapulted me,” Dool said.
