The Pierce College welding team won six gold medals at the regional competition in February.
Their achievements garnered them the chance to compete at the Welding State Championship competition in San Diego, California in April.
“Our competitions are very challenging,” welding instructor Gary Wheeler said. “We prepare well, we come in on our off days, and Saturdays.”
The atmosphere in the welding department is clean, and full of hard working students preparing for their next competition. The motivation of the students is inspiring and it’s clear their hard work is paying off. They start off with TIG machines for beginner status and as they progress, they can discover what machine meets their needs the best and which one suits their craftsmanship.
The names of the winners are displayed on brass plates hanging on the wall. These include photographs of the top competitors.
“Every student has their own style, mine works for me but not for everybody, said Wheeler. “I push the buttons and they do the work, it shows in the medals they have won.”
Students praised their instructor and the freedom they have in his teaching process.
“We’re given the basics, then we develop our own style,” said welding student Jason Cozza.
In this year’s state competition, Pierce will have a fabricating team known as the Fab Three.
“I’m proud of the guys, they did it themselves, its good for my ego and it is good for theirs,” Wheeler said.
The Fab Three are given a theme, a certain amount of metal, and are then required to make a blueprint, and develop it using a Computer-aided design (CAD) program.
“I learned about this program last year, this is our second year in this competition,” said Wheeler. “If we win the State, we will go to the Nationals in June, in Kansas City, Missouri this year.”
The Fab three team will include three welders: Brian Burke, Jason Cozza, and Gregg Lindlahr.
Cozza is in his sixth semester; he won Gold in the medal inert gas (MIG) category.
“I love the atmosphere and the people in this great all-around program. That’s why I keep coming back to compete,” said Cozza. “There is a great instructor who helps you out when you need it.”
The class meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:45 p.m. in room 3805.
“The night classes work if you have a full time job,” Cozza said.
Gregg Lindlahr, one of the Fab Three, has been attending Pierce for three semesters.
“I like making things on my own, working with a team, and utilizing different skill sets,” said Lindlahr. “I liked this class from the beginning.”
Burke works with his dad as a tape welder and has been at Pierce for four years.
“It’s a pretty fun and cool experience. It is an honor to represent the school,” said Burke. “Last years combo-welding team took first [gold] in the regional’s.”
Wheeler talked about the value of the trades, specifically welding.
“They think these buildings are built magically, they don’t realize people from these classes do that stuff,” said Wheeler. “Machine shops, auto shops, CAD drawings… they don’t realize this is how our inner city is built.”
Welding classes aren’t taught enough in high school or junior high school according to Wheeler.
“It’s not for everyone, it’s for people that like to work with their hands and get dirty and burnt,” said Wheeler.
The Pierce College Welding team is prepared and eager to put their trading and hard work to the test.
Homer Perez, a former award winning photojournalist at Pierce College won gold in the regionals in February.
“I am looking forward to the competition,” Perez said.
The competition will be held at the Local Iron Workers of San Diego.
“They have all the skills they need. They just have to be able to work under pressure,” said Wheeler.
http://www.piercecollege.edu/departments/industrial_technology/
Homer Perez tack welds an elbow for the Fab 3 welding team in the Industrial Arts Dept. (Joseph Kukuczka 2011)
Jason Cozza arch welds together the Fab 3’s blueprint for State Competition in the Industrial Arts Dept. (Jose Romero 2011)