“Welding Wars” gives students real-world experience

Eleven teams will compete, but only one can earn bragging rights for welding together a train, plane or automobile, with only scrap metal and the skills they learned in class.

Welding teacher at Tri-Tech Skills Center, Gina Cutts says the 3rd annual "Welding Wars" is a week-long project, in which the students create a metal art sculpture of anything that related to the theme of "Transportation." Cutts say the project teaches the students about what is like to work in the industry.

"They work as a team and they have deadlines to give them a little idea of what it is like in the real world, they don't always get to work with who they want to work with, just like the real world," says Cutts.

Those skills are something both Senior Austin Michel and first-year Kiley Garrison hope to use and shape into their careers.

"I want to go to CBC and I'm going to take the welding technology program there, and I was thinking about doing pipe fitting or the local 598," says Garrison.

"We actually had the local IBEW local electricians union come in and I talked to the guy about that and I think that is actually the path I would like to take," says Michel.

The finished products will be judged by the school for student bragging rights, then each one will be sold and the money raised will be put in the ASB fund.

If you're interested in bidding on one of the metal art sculptures you can head to the Welding Instagram page or reach out to the teacher at gina.cutts@ksd.org.