OXFORD, Mass. (Spectrum News Worcester) – A Massachusetts teen is proving hard work and some free time after school pays off big.
The Cordova family says their 16-year-old son Dylan is already cruising toward a successful future.
Dylan’s new Jeep Wrangler is everything he dreamed of.
But in order to get his new set of wheels, he put in a lot of hours behind another set of wheels.
It all began in 2020 during the pandemic. Dylan was only 12 years old.
“You’re just sitting at home playing Fortnite and I wanted to save up because I wanted a Jeep. I see everyone driving a Jeep, having fun,” Dylan described. “My dad came from Guatemala, so he started working really young, too. So, I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
“I always tell them, ‘Work hard. Work for your goals because nothing comes easy. Nothing is free, especially in these times.’ You know?” Dylan’s father, Samuel Cordova said. “Everything is so expensive. I tell them, ‘Do the best you can.’”
The job market for middle schoolers was quite limited, but Dylan managed to find work mowing lawns around his hometown of Oxford.
As word began to spread, Dylan soon found himself mowing lawns any time he wasn’t in school or when there wasn’t any snow on the ground.
“I do it every single day. I wake up early in the morning when I don’t have school and then come home around 7-ish,” Dylan said. “It kind of grew in while I kept doing it. Obviously, the first year wasn’t as big because I didn’t have as many people, but years three and four are definitely the big money makers.
Last week, it all paid off for Dylan.
It’s not every day a 16-year-old arrives at a dealership with $65,000 in cash.
But the moment he picked out his new ride and got behind the wheel, all those hot days and blisters were worth it; he saw this thing through.
“Loss of words, I mean I opened the sunroof up, all the windows down, blasting music. It was definitely a dream come true for me,” Dylan said.
Dylan’s success has even inspired his little sister, Kaeli, to start saving as well. She tags along with her own push mower now.
“It’s definitely rewarding and challenging with the heat and stuff, but I think it’s definitely going to pay off when I get to his age,” Kaeli said.
Of course, their parents couldn’t be more proud of the work ethic they’ve shown at such a young age.
“We never miss a day of work, never call out sick. It’s very important,” Mandy Cordova, Dylan’s mother, said. “So, we feel it’s important to pass that on to them and hopefully they’ll pass that on to their children.”
“There’s not a lot of people out there working and I just want people to get motivated and start working, saving up for things they want because nothing comes handed to you and you have to work for it,” Dylan remarked.…Read more by Devin Bates, Spectrum News Worcester via CNN Newsource
