 Barrowman spent his senior year shovelling coal for an Illinois power company . His father had arranged the job ( and similar jobs for his brother and sister ) to give Barrowman the experience of manual labour . His father told him : " If you want to do manual labour for the rest of your life you 'll know that when you do it ; it 's a choice . But if you don 't like it , you 'll understand the importance of educating yourself and – if you decide what you want to do – being good at your craft or your skill . " Barrowman worked for the power company for the entire summer , but did not like the job . Eventually , he convinced the company to move him to work in the storeroom . 
