“It’s kind of like a final exam because they take everything they’ve learned all year, put it together and build a project,” said Brian Massie, a welding instructor at CTC who also co-founded the welding rodeo with English instructor Deana Harris.
Massie said he and Harris looked online for programs that involved English, math and other skills and came across the idea of a welding rodeo.
“We presented the idea to the kids, and they loved it,” he said.
Senior Eric Lehman, who plans to go to Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy after graduating from the CTC, said working on the project is a team effort.
“We had to plan everything and make sure we were taking the right route,” he said.
Gabby Murphy, a junior student who switched to the CTC after discovering a love for welding during her sophomore year at Greenon High School, agreed that the welding rodeo serves as a great teamwork experience.
The finished products are auctioned off at the end of the day, and the funds are given to a different organization chosen by the seniors each year.
The seniors were originally going to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project, Harris said. But they decided to give funds to Veterans Park after seeing a Springfield News-Sun story last week about how the park had been vandalized and run down and needed funds for repairs.
Each team was supervised by a team leader — a current or former teacher, local manufacturing business leader or other community leader. One of the team leaders was Jason Hays, who works at Archtech Fabricating in Springfield and graduated from the CTC (then known as the Springfield-Clark County Joint Vocational School) in 1999.
Hays said he has stayed involved with the school since then because he thinks it’s important.
“It’s the future of manufacturing,” he said.
The CTC plays an important role because there is such a large skills gap in the manufacturing industry, Harris said.
“People are starting to understand that if we don’t have our workforce development program, what’s going to happen to our country?” she said.
After graduation, most CTC students go straight into the workforce or go into programs at Hobart, Clark State Community College or Sinclair Community College.
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