Te’Lario Watkins II may have just graduated from high school, but he’s already built the foundation of a life dedicated to engineering, entrepreneurship, and service. A senior in C-TEC’s Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program, Watkins has spent the last two years sharpening the technical skills he believes will help him expand not only his future career, but also the businesses and community initiatives he has already launched at a remarkably young age.
For Watkins, choosing C-TEC’s Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program was an easy decision because of the variety of skills and opportunities it offered.
“I needed civil engineering, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering — and engineering and advanced manufacturing helps a lot with that,” he said. “It gives a lot of outlets and opportunities through different ways that engineering can be applied.”
That versatility matters because Watkins already has a clear vision for his future. His long-term goal is to use engineering knowledge to support his own businesses and ensure projects are completed the right way.
“I want to be able to make sure that when I have my business and I need something structurally done, I know exactly that it’s getting done the right way,” he explained.
What makes Watkins stand out even more is that he’s not talking about someday starting a business — he already has one.
Watkins founded Tiger Mushroom Farms when he was just seven years old. Inspired by visits to local farmers markets, he quickly became passionate about food access and helping his community. By age eight, he was already thinking beyond entrepreneurship and focusing on how to make healthy food more accessible to families.
That passion eventually led him to launch his nonprofit organization, The Garden Club Project, at age 12.
The nonprofit focuses on ending childhood hunger, encouraging healthier eating habits, and advocating for sustainable food systems. Watkins and his team operate a community garden on an acre of land near Parsons and Obetz in Columbus, where they have already donated more than 200 pounds of fresh produce back to the community.
“It’s meant to be community outreach, as well as an advocate for sustainable food and fighting against food insecurity,” Watkins said.
Even with all he has already accomplished, Watkins is just getting started.
After graduating from C-TEC, he plans to attend The Ohio State University at Newark, where he will pursue a degree in Engineering Technology. He hopes the knowledge he gains there will help him continue expanding both Tiger Mushroom Farms and The Garden Club Project.
Looking back on his time at C-TEC, Watkins says the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program confirmed that he is on the right path.
“The versatility of engineering allowed me to have outlets that I could look towards to what I wanted to do in the future,” he said. “Coming to this lab was the best way for me to gain that experience.”
While college and future opportunities may eventually take him beyond Columbus, Watkins says his focus right now is staying rooted in the community that helped shape him.
“I want to plant my roots more in Columbus and gain a bit more with the community,” he said. “Then grow outward with Columbus as the backbone.”
With a growing business, a nonprofit already making a measurable impact, and a passion for engineering and community development, Te’Lario Watkins II represents the kind of driven, forward-thinking student C-TEC is proud to call one of its own.