Yeridd Rodriguez won’t officially earn the title of high school graduate until Friday morning, but he’s already earned another very impressive title: 2026 Maryland Youth Apprentice of the Year.
Rodriguez’s work was honored recently as part of the Maryland 2026 Apprentice Awards. He spent his apprenticeship at Freestate Electrical and plans to open his own electrical business in the future.
“Yeridd is a tremendous student at Glen Burnie High School who has grown his career skills and brought a positive attitude every day to school and work,” Glen Burnie High School Principal Kevin Carr said. “Yeridd has taken full advantage of the opportunities that his apprenticeship has offered him. He also recently earned his STAMP Seal of Biliteracy and has fully developed his career readiness. We are incredibly proud of Yeridd and all of our student apprentices at Glen Burnie High School.”
Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller helped recognize the honorees and highlighted the “life-changing” opportunities that can be created through apprenticeships.
“Apprenticeship is one of the clearest pathways we have to turn potential into progress – connecting Marylanders to real careers while strengthening the workforce our economy depends on,” Lt. Governor Miller said at the ceremony. “Today’s awardees remind us that when we invest in people, we build a stronger, more competitive Maryland for generations to come.”
Anne Arundel County Public Schools sponsored 171 student apprentices in the 2025-2026 school year. Yeridd was one of 21 apprentices at Glen Burnie High School, which trailed only Chesapeake High School (22) for the number of student apprentices this year.