“I like new challenges, and I don’t believe in failure.” - Kendall, Senior Safety Manager

At 30 years old, Kendall is one of Workrise’s youngest regional managers in solar safety. How he got there has a lot to do with his work ethic, ability to flow, and really, really good timing.

Kendall grew up in Lubbock, Texas with three siblings and a mom who taught him the meaning of hard work. “She made struggle look easy,” he says. “She was a nurse, and I watched her work two or three jobs to provide for us.”

Following his mom’s work ethic, he got his OSHA30 as a teenager so he could take on residential construction jobs in the summer. When Kendall got the opportunity to play football for East Texas Baptist College, he packed his bags for Marshall, TX. He completed his degree and stayed there as a coach, but all throughout his early 20’s, he kept his foot in the skilled trades.

“I had friends in the industry who would ask me to come work for them. It was fun—I was learning more and meeting new people. It got me interested,” he says.

Then in 2018, Kendall committed to a career change when some friends in the Oil & Gas industry called him about an assistant safety specialist job.

"It was the busiest job I’ve ever worked. Because it’s Oil & Gas, there could be 150-200 trucks to inspect every day... I really grew to enjoy it."

Kendall went through rigorous training to learn the safety regulations and procedures that he would need to teach others on the jobsite.

“I like new challenges,” he says. “And I don’t believe in failure. I’ve come up short before, sure, but I find success in failure.”  

About a year after he started in Oil & Gas, he got a call about another job—this time for solar.

“I said, ‘I’ve never seen this before. Let’s give this a run’.”

In 2019 — right after he went to work in solar — the Oil & Gas industry took a big hit. “It got rough for a lot of people in Oil & Gas. I jumped into renewables at exactly the right time,” he says. “I’m a big believer in faith.”

That leap of faith led to an even deeper enjoyment in his career path, within an industry that is so new, its safety systems and processes are still being developed — the perfect conditions for Kendall’s personality.  

Despite the dangers, solar is a more controlled safety environment than Oil & Gas, which Kendall appreciates because of his other, super important job — being the dad of a 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.

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Kendall loves how his kids have helped him pace himself and focus his ambition — whether that’s supporting his daughter as she learns to dribble a basketball or keeping up with his toddler son’s energy.

“My kids taught me patience — they still do,” he says. “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself for them.”

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