The maintenance man from Debrecen repairs a 400-ton press during the day, and dances in the evening

He talks about perseverance and dedication. about professionalism, that he is only 19 years old. To most of his contemporaries, these concepts may mean nothing, but Zétény Örkényi Bátor is not an average young man. He has achieved his goals so far, and based on our conversation, there can be no doubt that his career still has a lot of success in store for him. He is full of plans: now he is preparing for graduation, then for university.

Zétény soon experienced that life sometimes presents a person with difficult situations. He was born as the middle son in 2005 and was only six years old when his parents divorced, so from then on the three of them were raised by their mother alone. Also, from the age of six, competitive dancing became a part of her life – she started dancing at the Valcer Dance Studio under Csaba Bíró, whom she considers her first mentor. He won his first Hungarian championship at the age of twelve, and then won the second during his high school years.

After finishing primary school, he continued his studies at the Debrecen Vocational Training Center Baross Gábor Technikum, Vocational Training School and College. Originally, he wanted to be a tool maker, but since such a course was not offered at school, he studied as an industrial machinist, which he did not regret at all afterwards. Even then, he had definite ideas about what he wanted to achieve in life. “My plan was that when I stepped out into the big picture life, I wanted to get my hands dirty right away, I wanted to learn a profession that I could make a living from,” he said. – I graduated from school with excellent academic results, and from the first year I spent my practical time at Schaeffler Debrecen Kft., learning a lot about the tricks of the trade.

Get your hands dirty

They must have been very satisfied with Zétín at the company, because they offered him a job after graduation. He first worked as a spindle maintainer, then soon after he became a mechanical maintainer, and has been doing this work ever since, as he admits, this is a job that really suits him. – I repair fifty, one hundred and fifty ton and four hundred ton presses, which is a serious responsibility and requires a lot of endurance – he explained. – I have a lot to thank György Miskolczi, Uncle Gyuri, who supported me during the practical training and not only introduced me to the profession, but also taught me how to make a living even on the back of the ice. Uncle Gyuri had many students, but many of them gave up and chose other fields, because our work is quite “tricky” and requires great precision. Three months ago, my master retired, and he passed the baton to me, and I can proudly say that I not only took his place, but I am moving up and up the ranks, I am being trusted more and more at the company.

While working and continuing to dance, she is also currently preparing for her upcoming high school graduation. Although he admitted that with so many tasks, it is not easy at all. – In history and Hungarian, for example, I now have to focus a lot in order to pass the exam – he admitted bitterly. – Graduation is important to me, because I don’t want to be stuck at this level, I want to further my education, my goal is to graduate from the university with a degree in mechanical engineering.

The real role model

When I interject that this kind of dedication and determination is not at all typical of his contemporaries, he comments: he also perceives that many of the members of his generation have become comfortable, they do not want to get their hands dirty, rather the illusion of easy money-making floats before their eyes. Or worse, they think their parents will support them. “I learned perseverance from my mother, who raised us on one salary alone, and even created the opportunity for my younger brother and I to dance,” he said. – My biggest role model will always be my mother, who showed great courage even in difficult situations.

Zétény is proud of the fact that he has been living alone for months now, he has his own sublet, for which he also provides the financial background.

And he advises young people in a similar situation: you can get up from anything, despite the fact that life sometimes gives you big slaps. According to him, important decisions should always be made by ourselves, even if we know that there is always someone behind us who helps and supports us.

Tibor Takács