Coming full circle 
 
 Custodian-turned-engineer Michael Vaudreuil hired by aerospace firm Pratt & Whitney 
 
 • For years, he hustled juggling a full schedule of classes with a full-time, second-shift custodial job. And most of the time in between (what little of it he had) was spent on his coursework and his Major Qualifying Project; he even picked up the occasional plastering gig, too. 
 
 But Michael Vaudreuil—maybe the name sounds familiar?—has finally gotten his payoff. The custodian-turned-engineer, whose story went viral after WPI’s 148th commencement ceremony on May 14, has accepted a position at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut. As of July 11, he will be an engineer with the aerospace manufacturer’s Production Integrated Product Team (PIPT). 
 
 “I’m going to quote one of my favorite movies—they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” the 54-year-old says with a laugh (and shame on you if you don’t get the reference). “I’m looking forward to the satisfaction and fulfillment that will come with the job.” 
 
 It’s a fitting start to a new chapter of his life. 
 
 “I’m going to quote one of my favorite movies—they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” – Mike Vaudreuil, on a job offer by Pratt & Whitney 
 
 Vaudreuil’s story—enduring setback after professional setback, losing his home, his life savings, and for a while, his hope—has resonated with millions. From NBC Nightly News, to the UK’s Independent, dozens of media outlets around the world picked up the story about the middle-aged custodian who earned his mechanical engineering degree from the university he cleaned at night. One video of him graduating garnered more than 11 million views. 
 
 “I was certainly welcoming of it, because I thought it would help networking-wise,” he says of the media attention. “To the degree that it took off was a bit surprising. It was almost an out-of-body experience. You see this happen, things go viral—now it’s happening to me.” 
 
 Following his segment on NBC Nightly News, four people from Pratt & Whitney reached out to him on the same day, independently of each other. It was flattering, he recalled, because he could tell they saw something in him. Tom Prete, vice president, Engineering, at Pratt & Whitney, said the firm is proud to hire the recent WPI grad. 
 
 “Pratt & Whitney engineers design and develop products that change the world. As we continue to grow our global workforce, we are proud to add Michael Vaudreuil to our talented team,” says Prete. “Our employees are critical to our success and the reason we are in the midst of one of the most exciting chapters in our company’s history.” 
 
 “I feel like I kind of won the lottery,” Vaudreuil says. 
 
 Still, he hasn’t let any of that deter him from his goal. “I really haven’t lost sight of the eye-on-the-prize type of thinking,” he says. “Getting that job is always what it’s been about. That’s the moment I fought for, for so hard, all of those years.” 
 
 Right now, he’s still working as a custodian at WPI—which he expects to continue through June—but his Auburn home is up for sale and he’ll soon be relocating to Connecticut. Both he and his wife, Joyce, (whom he credits with supporting him wholeheartedly throughout the trying and emotional process of earning his degree) are looking forward to the move. 
 
 In his new position, he’ll be working in the Hot Section Engineering division at Pratt & Whitney, which deals with jet engine combustion chambers, and turbine and exhaust systems. For him, it was a perfect fit, because years ago, he earned an associate’s degree in aeronautical technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology. 
 
 Ultimately—beyond moving on with his new life and his new job—Vaudreuil says he hopes the media attention helps change the perception of older graduates and job candidates. 
 
 “This last year was filled with a lot of anticipation and excitement, but also trepidation,” he recalls. “The reality was sinking in that I was going to be a 54-year-old graduate.” 
 
 Sometimes, he notes, the life experiences of older job candidates can get overlooked or taken for granted, or there’s a stereotype that their better days are behind them and they’re just riding it out to retirement. 
 
 But as is clear with Vaudreuil, never assume, never underestimate—and never give up. “Nobody’s going to question my work ethic, my energy level or my desire,” he says. 
 
 – By Taryn Plumb ||||| 
 
 Michael Vaudreuil poses with a sign announcing his new job. (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) 
 
 After the story of Michael Vaudreuil’s graduation from the college he cleaned at night as a custodian went viral, the job offerings poured in from around the country. Companies in places as far away as Colorado, California and Michigan wanted the Massachusetts 54-year-old to relocate to work for them. 
 
 But the company Vaudreuil has chosen attracted him because four of its employees called him, independent of one another, to discuss job opportunities. That, he said, told him something about the culture there. Then, throughout the interview process, they spoke of the importance of life experience. And although taking the job will require him and his wife to move afterall, it’s only to the next state over. 
 
 Vaudreuil, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute on May 14, will soon be employed by Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney as an engineer with the aerospace manufacturer’s Production Integrated Product Team. 
 
 [READ ORIGINAL STORY: This 54-year-old custodian just graduated from the college he cleaned at night] 
 
 Although Vaudreuil was open-minded about all industries, his choice of a job in aerospace brings the middle-aged father full circle. Decades ago, in 1982, Vaudreuil received an associate’s degree in aeronautical engineering but never sought a job in his chosen field. 
 
 Instead, he took up plastering work, eventually starting his own business until it went under at the onset of the 2008 economic downturn, and he lost everything. That’s when he took a job cleaning bathrooms and scrubbing chalkboards at WPI at night, and took advantage of its free tuition program by day. 
 
 It took him almost a decade to get his degree. It took him just over a month to land a dream job. 
 
 “It’s always been to me about landing a job, and when I landed a job, I felt like mission complete, and I felt the full satisfaction,” Vaudreuil said Monday. “Graduation did hold a lot of emotion — that’s trophy day, you’ve completed a journey. But there was a little bit left to do.” 
 
 On graduation day, he wrote “OLD DOG HAS NEW TRICKS” on the top of his mortarboard. Playing off that, he recently posed for a photo holding a sign that read, “OLD DOG HAS NEW JOB.” 
 
 Vaudreuil starts his new job July 11. He said the compensation and relocation package was an offer he couldn’t refuse. 
 
 He is grateful for all the attention his story has received and the outpouring of support from around the world. Outlets in Europe and Australia ran his comeback story. Having his story out there did what no résumé could, he said — it showed him as more than a man who just got his bachelor’s degree in his mid-50s. 
 
 “I got to show people who I was and what I am made of, which is hard to do on a résumé. What we did actually happened,” he said. “When people see that, you can’t show that on a résumé and carry the same emotion.” 
 
 Although the reaction to his story was mostly positive, there were a few naysayers who said he’d never get a job at his age. Hearing some of those comments pushed him even more. 
 
 “That stirred the fire in my belly,” he said. “I wanted to make sure the end of the story gets out there, and people know he actually did it.” ||||| After several years balancing his second-shift custodial gig at Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a full slate of classes there, Michael Vaudreuil is moving on from the school that helped him reset his career at the age of 54. 
 
 WPI announced that Vaudreuil is leaving for a job in Connecticut as an engineer with the aerospace firm Pratt & Whitney. He starts in July, according to an article on the school’s website accompanied by a picture of him holding a sign that reads, “Old dog has new job.” 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 “I really haven’t lost sight of the eye-on-the-prize type of thinking,” he told The Daily Herd, a campus news site. “Getting that job is always what it’s been about. That’s the moment I fought for, for so hard, all of those years.” 
 
 Vaudreuil’s graduation drew broad attention last month, as the former plasterer told many news outlets about his journey. He had worked for years as a plasterer before the Great Recession caused his economic prospects to deteriorate. 
 
 Get Fast Forward in your inbox: Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here 
 
 In 2008, he found a job at WPI. He told Globe columnist Thomas Farragher in May that the academic environment there helped him decide he wanted to go back to school. 
 
 “The thought process was: This is it for me,’’ Vaudreuil said in May. “This is the last train out of the station. Your back’s against the cliff. You either jump off, or you fight for your life.’’ 
 
 His wife, Joyce, helped support him through the challenges, and he told The Daily Herd he was happy to receive the attention surrounding his commencement. He credits the coverage, which also reached NBC Nightly News and other national outlets, with helping his appeal to employers. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 “To the degree that it took off was a bit surprising,” he told the campus news site. “It was almost an out-of-body experience. You see this happen, things go viral — now it’s happening to me.”
– Michael Vaudreuil first made headlines in May when the custodian received a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts-based Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the very school the 54-year-old had spent the past decade cleaning. Now he's got another big announcement: a dream job with multibillion-dollar aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, where he'll work as an engineer with the Production Integrated Product Team, reports the Washington Post, which notes the job offers "poured in" following news of his graduation. "I feel like I won the lottery," he tells the school's Daily Herd. But he's got a message, too: Never give up. "Nobody's going to question my work ethic, my energy level, or my desire," he says. Vaudreuil's story of hard work paying off has resonated with many, but it's also the tale of a circle completed—he earned an associate degree in aeronautical engineering in 1982. He ended up working as a plasterer, but in 2008 his business folded and he lost just about everything, including his home. When he found himself scrubbing toilets and chalkboards at WPI, he decided to make use of the school's free tuition for employees. "The thought process was: This is it for me," he told the Boston Globe in May. "Your back's against the cliff. You either jump off, or you fight for your life." And fight he did. It took him almost 10 years to finish his degree, and even though his new gig requires a move to Connecticut in advance of his July 11 start date, he's still finishing the month as a custodian. (This teen was in a coma during his graduation, but his classmates made sure he didn't miss it.)