Derek Leake grew up in Albemarle County and took classes at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) before moving to Greene County after high school. A 2018 graduate of the University of Virginia apprenticeship program and former UVA Facilities Management HVAC mechanic, this fall he took on the role of HVAC teacher for the Greene County Tech Center.
Derek Leake completed his HVAC apprenticeship with UVA and worked as a facilities management mechanic for the hospital before accepting a job as HVAC teacher in Greene County.
This fall, Diversitech was one of the local companies to make a generous donation of Hilmar equipment for tech center students to further their technical knowledge.
Each of Derek Leake’s classes is currently working on braising, which is joining two copper pipes together by melting a piece of silver with a hot torch. “Each class is making a project and each student has to do one joint, so I have one class doing deer antlers and then I have another group doing 434,” he said.
Derek Leake completed his HVAC apprenticeship with UVA and worked as a facilities management mechanic for the hospital before accepting a job as HVAC teacher in Greene County.
Each of Derek Leake’s classes is currently working on braising, which is joining two copper pipes together by melting a piece of silver with a hot torch. “Each class is making a project and each student has to do one joint, so I have one class doing deer antlers and then I have another group doing 434,” he said.
This fall, Diversitech was one of the local companies to make a generous donation of Hilmar equipment for tech center students to further their technical knowledge.
