(WACO, Texas) – That new-equipment smell is satisfying for Drake Morphis, a senior at Robinson High School.
Morphis is among more than 10 juniors and seniors from the high school who are participating in a month-long summer welding boot camp at The WorkSITE (Skills, Innovation, Training and Education) on Wycon Drive in Waco. The workforce training facility is a partnership between Texas State Technical College, McLennan County and the city of Waco. The training is from June 2 to 30.
The group is the first to work in The WorkSITE’s welding lab. The building opened in mid-February.
“I’ve never used equipment straight out of the box like that,” Morphis said. “It’s definitely an improvement on what I know, and I’m still kind of trying to get used to that, but I think it’s going to pay off. I think it’s going to help me sharpen my abilities.”
Alicia Cruz, associate program lead at The WorkSITE, said the welding lessons have been good to see.
“Watching these young minds dive into hands-on learning, achieving real-world skills and bringing their creativity to life, is a great way to christen the lab,” she said.
Michael Beridon, a senior at Robinson High School, said he enjoys welding because he is not sitting in an office all day. He considers the summer welding lessons a preview of what he will encounter when he enrolls next year to study Welding Technology at TSTC.
“It’s great and is a really enjoyable experience and good practice for moving on with welding,” Beridon said of the summer boot camp.
Zac Cox, an instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program, is teaching the month-long training using a condensed curriculum. He said the first two weeks of the training focus on shielded metal arc welding, with additional teaching planned for gas metal arc and flux-cored arc welding.
The welding boot camp is made possible through a partnership between the Robinson Independent School District – Texas ACE (Afterschool Centers on Education) program and The WorkSITE. The summer session is at no cost to the students.
Francis Edwards, a college and career specialist for the Robinson Independent School District – Texas ACE program, said many of the students already had some welding knowledge but can benefit from working with materials not available at the high school.
“I hope that the students learn to take advantage of not just the hours they put into their craft, but also the value of learning how and who to network with for their future success,” he said.
For more information on The WorkSITE, go to worksite.org.