Read about Reed Midgett and his pursuit of a new, high-demand career in the HVAC industry on the Outer Banks.

Reed Midgett grew up in his family’s fish house, the Wanchese Fish Company, one of the largest suppliers of seafood in the U.S.

His great-grandfather started the family business in 1936 and up until about a year ago, the operation was run by grandsons and cousins who worked alongside each other. Midgett remembers shoveling fish and shrimp in the fish hole with his cousins, and taking the catch up to the Outer Banks together. Some of his memories of working at the fish house go back even further.

“At 12 years old, I was heading shrimp,” Midgett said. “I learned math by counting fish on the scales.”

He also remembers packing fish into 50-pound cardboard boxes that would be shipped to New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Boston. He thought he was learning the family trade that was going to be his life’s work, as it had been for generations before him.

“My whole life, I planned on working there,” he said. “I basically had it planned out.”

Unfortunately, life had a different plan for Midgett. A few years ago, there was a family meeting to discuss selling the family business. Last year, the sale was finalized. It meant Midgett needed to figure out a new plan for his life. One that didn’t involve the fish house.

His new reality got him thinking of going to college — many of his friends were at four-year schools — so he decided to enroll at College of The Albemarle’s (COA) Dare County Campus. Last month, he graduated from COA with his Associate in Arts.

“The way fishing is going, it’s not really the best,” Midgett said. “So I decided I would go to COA. I knuckled down when I decided I needed to do something with myself.”

Not content just to have earned his associate degree, Midgett is currently enrolled in COA’s HVAC Certification program as well. Once he finishes the one-year program, Midgett will work as a certified HVAC technician. Currently, he works as an installer for a local HVAC company.

Midgett hopes that learning a new trade industry will be a foolproof plan that won’t fail him in the future.

“I’m trying to find the Holy Grail of jobs that I can build a life on,” Midgett said. “My whole world was taken away from me, so I’m trying to find a new world.”

With the U.S. now importing up to 90 percent of its seafood annually, Midgett hopes he’s found a new industry that will always be in demand. And he is grateful that COA helped train him for his second act.

“COA gave me the tools to pick myself up again and give me another start to providing for — one day — my family,” Midgett said. “Without COA, I would never have gotten another chance.”