From Student to Staff: Bryan Welborn’s Journey to ACRT Arborist Training
When someone describes ACRT Arborist Training Traveling Arborist Trainer Bryan Welborn, they’ll likely use words like hard-working, self-motivated, or someone with a thirst for knowledge. He’s experienced his fair share of challenges along the way but says every time he wakes up, he thinks, “man, I really love this job.”
Rewind a handful of years, Welborn worked for a company that specializes in tree pruning and vegetation management and was lacking satisfaction and a sense of safety on the job. Wanting to expand his skillset, he explored various climbing schools and landed upon ACRT Arborist Training. Welborn paid for ACRT Arborist Training’s Basic Arborist course out-of-pocket and provided his transportation to Missouri where he met Kevin Myers, an arborist training supervisor.
Welborn remembers hitting it off with the ACRT Arborist Training staff and said, “My eyes and ears were wide open. I loved every second of that class.” He enjoyed it so much that not long after, he took two weeks off work to send himself to ACRT Arborist Training’s Advanced Arborist and Line Clearance Arborist courses in Missouri and Utah.
Bringing back these skills, Welborn was able to continue his career with a robust number of skills in his toolbox. He was so passionate about the skills he acquired that he shared them with his coworkers. Recognizing his passion for sharing knowledge, Welborn wanted to continue passing these skills on to others who were looking to develop their careers.
He reached out to ACRT Arborist Training for potential openings as an arborist trainer which led to an interview, and ultimately the opportunity to begin a new chapter in his career.
Now, as an official member of the team, Welborn travels around the country on a weekly basis to teach those same classes he once took. He says it was a “full-circle” moment when he got to return to Missouri to teach the Basic Arborist course at the same location he attended his first course with ACRT Arborist Training.
The thing he enjoys most about teaching? The people. Welborn admits he was a shy child growing up, but he eventually came out of his shell and enjoys getting to interact with new people each week.
“The people I meet on these trips are such good, honest, genuine human beings. There’s nothing better than the camaraderie people show each other in these classes,” said Welborn.
