Isaac’s Elevator Field Trip

Kentucky’s DC Elevator helps young man realize his dream.

This summer, we had the opportunity to spend time with a young man who has a unique hobby. Isaac Powers is a typical eight-year-old boy who likes chicken fingers, playing with his sister and going to the zoo with his parents.

However, there’s one thing that Isaac is passionate about, and that’s elevators. His fascination extends far past riding the machines; he loves to educate himself on all of their features and how they function. He will sometimes turn the family bathroom or closet into a pretend elevator cab with hand-drawn controls and all!

When it comes to elevators, Isaac tends to have a photographic memory. Sometimes, his parents take him to local hospitals just so he can ride the elevators and commit certificates and fixtures to memory. Isaac also enjoys watching YouTube videos about elevators, and can name all the majors.

In June, Steven Schmidt, a DC Elevator project manager, invited him to a memorable experience — an elevator-themed field trip! Schmidt and Isaac’s father, Josh, took Isaac to visit two famous University of Kentucky buildings that feature DC Elevator units: the Patterson Office Tower and the White Hall Classroom Building. Isaac was able to ride the elevators, operate call buttons, identify the cabinet elements and learn a lot about elevators straight from the source.

The word “excitement” cannot even describe what Isaac felt. You can imagine his reaction as we took him to the Lexington headquarters of DC Elevator. He was able to speak with some of our technicians and headed home with a bag of goodies and elevator parts.

A few days after his visit, Isaac surprised Schmidt and Chuck Sharp, DC Elevator’s vice president, with a handwritten thank-you note including a few Dairy Queen gift cards. Schmidt looks forward to enjoying the ice cream, but says that “nothing is as sweet as this young man’s passion for what we do for a living.” DC Elevator hopes to see Isaac become an elevator technician apprentice and spend a lifetime “living the dream” while serving our community.