No Challenge Too Big: OSUIT high voltage student pursues the American Dream

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Media Contact: Hicham Raache | Communications Coordinator | 918-293-4678 | hicham.raache@okstate.edu

Elisee Josias enjoys a challenge, but no challenge has proven too big for him to overcome on his journey to become a high-voltage line technician.

Josias and his family moved from Cameroon to the United States last year, and he quickly got to work accomplishing goal after goal.

He learned English in a mere three months, and now he’s succeeding in OSUIT’s High Voltage Line Technician Program.

“I wanted to learn how to do something that not everybody can do. That’s the main reason I chose high voltage,” Josias said.

Josias said he decided to enroll in a U.S. university after learning English. He had been a mechanical engineering student in Cameroon and planned to continue those studies in the U.S.

He spoke with a counselor at  OSU-Tulsa who told him about OSUIT. Josias researched its programs and was impressed by the affordable tuition and the prospect of receiving specialized skills training.

“I realized that OSUIT would give me the opportunity to be debt-free while still having a high-paying job. That's the reason why I chose OSUIT,” Josias said.

Josias has been in OSUIT’s high-voltage program for about seven months now and said he is enjoying every aspect of the experience.

“I like everything about it — the instructors, my classmates. The instructors are always prepared to answer my questions. Sometimes, I can be annoying because I ask [so many] questions. But every time I need them, they are here for me,” he said.

Josias said his classmates have been amazing.

“Sometimes they help me with my pronunciation; they show me how to pronounce some words. I really love it,” he said.

Josias has long been fascinated by electricity and said it’s a fascination that will lead to a lucrative career.

“I don't know why, but ever since I was younger, I just like to play with electricity. I got struck by electricity maybe seven or eight times, but I would keep playing with the electricity,” he said. “High voltage gives me the opportunity to make me financially stable. I was just like, ‘Yeah, I'm going for it.’”

The High Voltage Line Technician Program provides students with the skills needed to maintain and repair the vital infrastructure that powers communities.

ZipRecruiter reports that the average annual pay for a high-voltage technician in Oklahoma is $46,952.

The hands-on training has been an exciting experience for Josias. He said operating a bucket truck has been his favorite experience so far.

“The first time I did it, we went up, like, 60 feet in the air. That was the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. I just love it,” he said.

Josias’ path to OSUIT was not without obstacles. His transcripts and immigration status posed a challenge to his admission to OSUIT. He said his transcripts were in French, one of the languages primarily spoken in Cameroon. Admission personnel in the Grady W. Clack Center worked with Josias to help him gain admission to OSUIT.

“They did a really, really good job. They sat with me and helped me do my application step by step. And they helped me translate my transcript so I can get into this school,” Josias said.

The curriculum has been smooth sailing for Josias. He said he has taken to the program with little difficulty.

“I'm a very, very quick learner. I have incredible learning abilities. I can learn so quickly. I like to read. We have a 1,000-page book, and I've already read like maybe 50% of the book. I have a bunch of knowledge right now, and I really enjoy it,” he said.

High-voltage instructor Pete Salter said he is continually amazed by Josias’ vast aptitude for high-voltage work.

“He’ll come to my first class there, and I'll say, ‘How deep does the utility pole need to be?’ And he can spit straight word for word right out of a book, ‘10% of the length of the pole plus 2 feet,’ Boom, right off the bat. Never before had kids [who could] do that kind of stuff. He’s amazing. He probably has a high IQ,” Salter said.

The high-voltage curriculum is more than just hands-on training.

“They’re also giving us the theoretical training that we also need. So, at the end of this program, I feel like I'm going to be able to know what I’m doing and why I’m doing what I’m doing,” Josias said.

The High Voltage Line Technician Program is a two-year program and Josias is absorbing his high voltage education with immense passion and appreciation, Salter said.

“Coming from a foreign country like he does, he's more grateful than most kids here,” Salter said. “He appreciates it. He just eats it up. The kid's good. He's going to be good. He'll be a good worker for anybody he works for. I see that. No problem with him.

Josias said his next step is an internship in Pryor, Oklahoma.

“I'm really excited about it because that’s real-world experience that I’m going to get. And that's something I'm really, really, really excited about,” he said.

Josias said he looks forward to getting a job upon graduating as well as pursuing a bachelor's degree in leadership.

“I'm ready to work like 50 hours a week if I need to because I'm young, I'm healthy. I just want to work and get my experience out there,” he said.

Salter said Josias has the talent and ability to do anything to which he sets his mind.

“He's going to be an asset anywhere he goes. I keep telling him he needs to get into things like [electrical] substations because he's so good at relays and controls,” Salter said. “He's so versatile. They can put him anywhere because he's going to be able to pick that up a whole lot quicker than most people do.”

Josias wants to use his ability to help others. Salter said Josias expressed interest in someday utilizing the knowledge he gained at OSUIT to help communities in Cameroon. For now, Josias looks forward to doing good work in Oklahoma.

“[I want to] do something that really helps other people. I know when the power is going to go out, everybody's gonna count on us to restore the power,” he said. “That's a feeling that I really, really enjoy. I feel that appreciation that people have when we succeed in getting the power back. That’s a feeling that I really enjoy.”