About Fired Up Podcast: A Trade Collective Production
Fired Up Podcast: A Trade Collective Production
Welcome to the Fired Up Podcast, a local production focused on the Evanston community and the approximately 10 mile radius surrounding it. This show is a dedicated space for the conversations that matter most to our local students, families and businesses. We are exploring how to bridge the gap between high school education and the high paying, dignified careers waiting in the skilled trades.
For too long, our community has looked elsewhere for talent while our own students navigated uncertain paths after graduation. We are here to change that narrative. Hosted by Patrick Hughes and Dr. Pete Bavis, this podcast brings together parents, industry leaders, and educators to explore what it actually means to be trade ready in the modern workforce.
What to expect on the show:
Industry Insights: We sit down with local experts in manufacturing, automotive, plumbing, and other sectors to understand the real world demand right here in our own backyard.
Educational Reform: We discuss the two pieces of paper vision, which emphasizes the power of a high school diploma paired with a professional credential to create immediate career security.
Community Connection: We share stories from the shop floor and the classroom, highlighting the spark that happens when a student discovers a passion for building and creating.
Candid Conversations: These are sincere discussions about how we can better support our youth and strengthen our local economy through direct industry exposure.
Meet Your Hosts:
Patrick Hughes: The Founder and Chief Connector of The Trade Collective. Patrick is an Evanston entrepreneur and advocate who has spent decades building inclusive partnerships through organizations like Natural Ties and Inclusion Solutions.
Dr. Pete Bavis: The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at Evanston Township High School. A veteran educator with over 16 years of leadership, Pete is a champion for academic rigor and ensuring every student has access to a successful pathway.
Whether you are a parent looking for options for your child, an employer searching for your next great hire, or a neighbor invested in seeing Evanston thrive, it is time to listen in.
New episodes drop every other Tuesday.
Join the movement:
Website: thetradecollective.org (https://www.thetradecollective.org/)
Social Media: @The Trade Collective
Igniting the future of the skilled trades. Let's get fired up!
Fired Up Podcast Ep.16 | Auto Racing Teaches You How to Do Life
Episode 16 takes the Fired Up Podcast from the school auto shop to the speedway at Daytona. When you watch motor sports you see cars going faster than seems possible, what you don’t see is everyone on the tarmac and behind the scenes that make it possible. Welcome to Episode 16 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. On today’s episode hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with IMSA President John Doonan and The Community Garage’s Dr. John Santiago to talk...
19 Sept 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.15 | Growing A Trade Guild One Connection At A Time
A guild is an organized group of people who share the same job, trade, or common interest. In this episode, the mic goes to two people who are building a guild right here at The Trade Collective that’s composed of current and future local tradespeople. An electrician who runs his own shop and a union pipefitter who trains apprentices may have very different roles in the skilled trades, but they share a vision of a tight-knit local trade community and knowing the need to train the next gener...
5 Sept 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.14 | Never Held a Pipe Wrench: Sam Gordon and Robyn Gabel
Fired Up has never had a guest introduced by his mother-in-law...or had the privilege of speaking to the Illinois House Majority Leader. Sam Gordon started his own HVAC company four months before this conversation. His mother-in-law is the Majority Leader of the Illinois House. They sat down together in the Sauce Studio to discuss how a person with no tools and no plan found a career in the skilled trades, and what needs to change for more young people to access to similar careers. Welcome...
13 Aug 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.13 | Putting the STEAMe in Our Engines to Inspire and Connect Our Youth
Every November, ETHS reports to the school board on their new graduates' next steps. The students who enroll in a traditional 2- or 4-year college program get counted precisely; the 25 percent of students who don’t choose a college path get missed. The answer given for these students has been that there isn’t a way to track their paths. Until now. Welcome to Episode 13 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. On this episode, hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughe...
23 Jul 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.12 | 22 High Schools, A Shared Tech Campus, and What "Trade-Ready" Really Means
In this episode we continue the conversation about what we as a community are doing for the quarter of our students who are not heading to college and those currently in high school who want to take a more hands-on approach. This episode goes an hour north to Grayslake, where Lake County Tech Campus has been answering that question since 1977. It is one building where 2,400 juniors and seniors from 22 high schools go every day for 19 skilled trades programs their local schools c...
23 Jun 2026
A Path to More Than Cutting Grass | Fired Up Podcast Ep. 11
Commercial landscaping has both a staffing and a perception problem. - 600 positions are open right now within a 10 mile radius of Evanston, and most people still think the job is just cutting grass. Episode 11 goes inside that gap. We find out what commercial landscaping actually looks like from the inside, why the industry is struggling to find people, and what a five-week course at Oakton College could mean for someone ready to get started. Welcome to Episode 11 of the Fired Up Pod...
12 Jun 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.10 | Building From the Ground Up: Two Young Carpenters take on Ryan Field
We have talked a lot about getting the next generation into the skilled trades. This episode, you hear it straight from two young people who are doing it, on one of the biggest construction sites in the area. Welcome to Episode 10 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. Hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with Quentin Hamilton Jr. and Anthony Medina, two carpenter apprentices from Evanston who found their way into Local 58 through The Trade Collective. Qu...
28 May 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.9 | Paid to Learn: How Abt Electronics Builds Careers From the Ground Up
We have talked a lot about getting the next generation into the skilled trades. In this episode we are thrilled to hear from a young person at the start of a promising career about his journey to Abt Electronics and what it is like to be young and finding your path into the skilled trades. Welcome to Episode 9 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. Hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with Stefan Johnson and Josh Eddy from Abt Electronics. Josh tells his ...
13 May 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.8 | Putting Your Stamp on the Workplace
We have talked a lot about getting the next generation into the trades so on this episode we are thrilled to hear from two young people with promising careers about their journeys and experiences into the skilled trades? Welcome to Episode 8 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. Hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with Tom, David, and Ewan from Ward Manufacturing to discuss what it is like to be a young person in metal stamping. David and Ewan tel...
21 Apr 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.7 | Blueprints and Bleachers: Building a Career in Construction and a Stadium
We have talked a lot about getting interested in the trades, but what are the next steps when the interest is there? Listen to learn about what it takes to build a stable career in construction. Welcome to Episode 7 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. Hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with Turner Construction Company’s Geoff Moore to discuss all things construction including working on the construction team for the new Ryan Field Stadium. From constr...
7 Apr 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.6 | Proof of Concept: What Happens After the Trade Collective
We have talked a lot about the potential of careers in the skilled trades. In this episode, we show you what it actually looks like. Welcome to Episode 6 of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. Hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with two young ETHS and Trade Collective alumni, Alan Muir and Mekbib Boarini, who have launched careers in HVAC and plumbing. This is a different kind of episode. No professors, no policy. Just two young men who didn't have a clea...
23 Mar 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.5 | Building Opportunities in Construction
Today we’re talking about the blueprint for careers in carpentry and construction. Welcome to the fifth episode of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. In this episode, our co-hosts Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes sit down with Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and John Kenny Jr. of Kenny Construction to discuss career pathways in construction and local opportunities such as the new Ryan Field Stadium project at Northwestern University. Meet The Guests: 🎙️Daniel Biss: May...
17 Mar 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.4 | Igniting Equity From Cradle to Career
Fires are sparking in the minds of our high school students and we are here to discuss how to cradle these flames. 🔥 Evanston Cradle to Career (EC2C) works throughout Evanston to advance equity in the community. EC2C is a collective impact initiative that brings together over 40 partner organizations and 150 community members to create a more fair and equitable community. Their primary goal is to ensure that all youth in Evanston have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy, producti...
4 Mar 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.3 | Igniting Curiosity: Finding Your "Why" Through Permission and Play
We are giving our youth the permission to look inward and find their internal fire. Welcome to the third full episode of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. In this episode, our hosts, Dr. Pete Bavis and Patrick Hughes, sit down with Matthew Cummins and Rosabel “Rosie” Arellano Razo to explore how curiosity and "permission" act as the catalysts for lighting a fire in our students. We discuss how authentic, hands-on experiences, from 3,000-degree molten iron pours to ...
17 Feb 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.2 | Fan Your Child's Automotive Career Flame
Fires are sparking in the minds of our high school students and we are ready to fan the flames. Welcome to the second full episode of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. In this episode, our co-hosts sit down with Scott Nelson and Richard Fisher to discuss Scott's journey with his son who changed his path from the traditional college route to a career in the automotive industry. We also discuss how interest in an automotive path can lead to impressive and lucrative jo...
3 Feb 2026
Fired Up Podcast Ep.1 | The "Two Pieces of Paper" Vision
Something has sparked at 1910 Greenwood, and we’re ready to talk about it. Welcome to the first full episode of the Fired Up Podcast, a production of The Trade Collective. This show is for students and families navigating post-secondary plans, industry professionals looking at their workforce pipelines, and everyone invested in students having a clear path to a high-paying career. In this debut episode, our co-hosts sit down to discuss why being "Trade Ready" is a game-changer for our comm...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Contact Fired Up Podcast: A Trade Collective Production
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Fired Up Podcast: A Trade Collective Production?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
