Special to the Register
Gainesville —
Student welders were recognized and awards were handed out at
Wednesday’s Spring 2012 “Weld Off” ceremony at North Central Texas
College.
The recognition ceremony was for students enrolled in the welding
program through NCTC’s Lifelong Learning division. More than 230 welds
were judged by local welding professionals, including Mike Hendsbee of
Spindletop, Derek Campbell of Schad and Pulte and Rodney Fuller from
Forum Technologies.
The contest attracted more than 100 participants, including
open-enrollment, dual credit and agriculture welding students.
Twelve of the competitors were Gainesville Economic Development
Corporation scholarship students in the high school combination
welding program at Gainesville High School.
Kyle Majestic of Denton was named grand champion, while Gainesville
High School junior Grayson Gregory was the reserve champion.
Several other students took home trophies in individual categories.
Fernando Vazquez of Gainesville was named “Top MIG Welder”; Rodrigo
Valazquez of Gainesville was the “Top TIG Steel Welder”; Blake Pierson
of Neward was the “Top TIG Aluminum Welder”; Kyle Majestic was the
“Top Pipe Welder”; Gregory Grayson of Gainesville and Toni Multer of
Flower Mound were the top math students; Kyle Majestic was the top
blueprint student; Gustavo Soto of Gainesville was named “Top Oxy Fuel
Welder”; Blake Pierson was the “Top Flux-Cored Welder”; Fernando
Vazquez was the “Top Shielded Arc Welder”; and Jose Perez, Corey
Richey, Gustavo Soto and Johnathon Saenz (all of Gainesville) were
part of the “Top Multiple Process Team.”
“I am very proud of our students,” NCTC lead welding instructor Kenny
Smith said. “They have come a long way in the time they’ve attended.
These welds show that they are ready for the workforce.”
Representatives from GE Locomotive attended the ceremony to recruit
welders for their plant at Alliance Airport. Lifelong Learning has
received a state grant to train GE Locomotive welders in advanced
techniques.“Lifelong Learning constantly strives to groom students in
the skills needed for success in the workforce, whether that’s through
the Weld Off or asking industry leaders to talk to students about
skill development,” NCTC Dean of Lifelong Learning Djuna Forrester
said.
For information, visit www.nctc.edu/LifelongLearning or call
940-668-7731, ext. 4405.
