Calvin Strong's career as a professional whittler is starting to shape up nicely. After spending a year on the street whittling for whetstones and spare change, Calvin made up his mind to complete his education so that he could pursue his dream of professional whittling, and get paid to carve chunks of wood with a pocketknife.

"Before I began the apprenticeship program at Carver University, I was barely scraping by," admitted Calvin. "I had some raw whittling talent, but I didn't know how to apply it. At the time, the only work I could find was peeling potatoes. It wasn't enough, so I took a stab at school."

It was a good decision, as Calvin finished the two-year whittling certificate program, and almost immediately began to get offers. Now he has the luxury of choosing his commissioned work, and he can relax and focus on whittling what he wants to whittle.