MTEC welding students compete nationally
Jun. 17—Even with face masks and Zoom, some students are still inclined to snooze in class.
Don Robinette's classroom in the Monongalia County Technical Education Center proves a sonic challenge to that time-honored art, however.
That's because the space is actually a shop floor.
Welding is the order of business there, and welding isn't necessarily quiet.
Lots of clangs and clonks, what with pieces of metal bouncing off the concrete like that.
Even so, the welding done there Wednesday morning by Gabe Dalton, Tanner Hannen and Dylan Howard had national naptime implications.
And that's because they were taking part in the finals of the SkillsUSA competition.
Based in Leesburg, Va., SkillsUSA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry geared to trade, technical and skill service pursuits in a number of endeavors.
The aforementioned trio all qualified in state competition this past spring.
Wednesday was their final for nationals, which would have been held later this month in Atlanta were it not for the pandemic.
As with the state competition, all three were showing their skills to a video camera.
A proctor was present for the taping and also inspected the components they were creating and assembling into a product that will help people sleep at night.
They had exactly six-and-a-half hours to fabricate and weld a specially designed sawhorse that the national nonprofit organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace will use to construct wooden bunk beds for children from families in need.
"All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads, " as the organization says on its Web site.
Doing such precise work under an exact deadline is nothing new for students who train at the tech center on Mississippi Street, director Greg Dausch said.
Along with the three welders, MTEC culinary and public safety students are also national qualifiers this year, the director said.
"All the students are hard-working, " he said. "And talented and creative."
Self-directed, too, Robinette said, of his students.
"With COVID, they were only able to be here half the time they normally would have been, " the instructor said.
"But they really maximized their time. With this competition, even though it's timed, I told them to slow down and make sure they complete every step."
"Right now, it's working through it and getting everything done, " Howard said, echoing his instructor.
"We're not nervous. I think we're doing fine, actually."
Recruiting efforts for the welding program at MTEC are traditionally fine as well, Robinette said.
"It's the sparks. Everybody loves the sparks."
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