How Dominic DiSisto Lit Up a Career Path at J-Town

When the blimp pans over Ford Field during Monday Night Football, thousands of fans see the iconic blue and white glow of the Detroit skyline. For most, it’s just a scenic transition. For Jeffersontown High School graduate Dominic DiSisto, it’s a moment of professional pride seven years in the making.

“Ford Field was my grand project for sure,” Dominic reflects. “We did the lighting for the outside... a program where it goes white to blue. When the blimp shows the building and you see those lights, those are my fingerprints all over that building.”

Now a successful electrician with CI Engineering Solutions, Dominic’s journey to the top of a professional stadium didn’t start with a high-voltage license; it started in the ninth grade in the Jeffersontown (J-Town) High School.

The Pathway Pull

Dominic wasn't a student who stumbled into his career by accident. Even as a freshman, he had a clear vision for his future.

"I moved on to J-Town in the ninth grade. My mom [Natisha Estep] just started working for JCPS at the time, so we were talking about what school I wanted to go to," Dominic recalls. "I said I definitely wanna pursue some sort of engineering route. I knew that young, so J-Town was that school."

His mother, Natisha Estep—a Data Management Research Technician for JCPS—remembers that decisive moment well. “He chose J-Town. He said, ‘Mom, the electrical pathway that they offer, the engineering pathway, that’s where I wanna go.’ Letting him make that choice was excellent.”

Once inside the school, Dominic found his niche. Known by his teachers and peers as the “robotics guy,” he spent his high school years immersed in the electrical components of every project.

“I just remember him being always into every project we do with robotics,” says Jason Stepp, Dominic’s engineering teacher at J-Town. “He loved getting into the electrical work, taking things apart, figuring out what was wrong, and troubleshooting. We could always depend on him.”

The Transition: Choosing the Trade

Despite his clear talent for engineering, Dominic’s path to the field wasn't a straight line. Like many high-achieving students, he initially felt the pressure to pursue a traditional four-year degree.

“After that, I went to JCTC and I realized college wasn't for me,” Dominic admits. “I found an apprenticeship program and joined the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). It was probably the best choice overall—moving to something more hands-on every day.”

The transition wasn't without its growing pains. Natisha admits that, as a parent, the shift away from a desk job was a hurdle. “Unfortunately, we wasted some of his time and money forcing him into a college pathway. He just looked at me after struggling at JCTC and said, ‘Mom, I just wanna be an electrician. Will you just let me be an electrician?’”

Natisha’s perspective shifted as she saw her son's passion translate into professional maturity. “No parent wants to think, ‘My son wants to dig holes.’ You want them behind a desk. But not everybody is made to sit behind a desk. The minute he jumped in, he was happy doing what he loved.”

Dominic’s career quickly gained momentum. Through his ABC apprenticeship, he began working for Relco Electric, who paid for half of his schooling. He later moved to Volt Electrical, where his horizons broadened from low-voltage work to high-voltage industrial systems—the very skills that would eventually take him to the roof of Ford Field.

Dominic & Mr. Stepp

The Foundation: Plywood and "The Pyramid"

While Dominic is now navigating 30-mile-a-day walks through massive stadiums, he credits his ability to handle complex motor controls and circuitry back to the lab at J-Town. To Dominic, high school provided the "bottom layer" of his professional pyramid.

“My bottom layer, my pyramid, all came from Mr. Stepp, Mr. Hermes, and McKinney,” Dominic explains. He points specifically to a project that lacked the shiny, pre-made parts of professional robotics kits: the plywood go-kart.

“We didn't have the go-kart pieces. We built ours out of plywood and bicycle wheels, and then we put a cool little battery system for it,” Dominic says with a smile. “And it flew, man. It flew. Seeing your project work better than the stuff that's pre-made and pre-welded? That was a motivational booster to keep going.”

“Hopefully they can take something into a field, whether it’s college or an apprenticeship, where they have some background and foundational skills,” Stepp says. “Dominic obviously took advantage of the facilities and tools we had here and ran with it.”

Full Circle

Today, Dominic is back in the halls of J-Town, not as a student, but as a success story. For Natisha, the pride comes not just from the lights on Monday Night Football, but from the man her son has become.

“Knowing that he learned skills to be a good human being and a great employee here—that is even more heartwarming than seeing the lights up at Ford Field,” she says.

As Dominic reflects on his journey from a plywood bicycle to CI Engineering Solutions, the value of his pathway experience is clear. “J-Town provided me the foundation for the rest of my career by showing me camaraderie... and just the interest in doing something like this.”

For the teachers at J-Town, seeing a student like Dominic return is the ultimate validation. “We get surprised sometimes,” Stepp concludes. “When a kid like Dominic comes back and shows you all the cool stuff they’re doing...out there making it.”