A year ago, Red Mountain High School hired a new man to manage the welding program.
Dan Hurst took on the challenge with enthusiasm and expertise. In just one year, the program is thriving. There is a wait list to take welding as an elective class, and it is easy to understand why. For example, the Welding Club won a state championship, girls are enrolling in the class, and students are taking their certifications for a career in welding. Students are preparing for the future with real life skills in a real world where collegiality, collaboration and communication are key aspects of being successful.
In addition, state-of-the-art equipment, with a new air extraction system, has been installed, allowing 30 students to be
welding at any given time, as opposed to just 11 students last year. Completing welding jobs for outside companies needing the work validates their skill level, as well as creating projects to sell, which feature the Red Mountain logo.
Best of all, the students are working on a trailer, which will make them self-sufficient when traveling to competitions and events. In addition, the students are in collaboration with the auto shop, working on the motor, as they reinvent an automobile for racing in a competition in Queen Creek, with Zach Griggs as the driver and lead.
In the future, look for the Welding Club to be competing in Welding Thunder, at Skyline High School, at the end of October, and at a Tungsten Inert Gas, or TIG, Welding event, at Falcon Field, in January. This next spring, club members will, once again, participant in the Best of The West. At this event, they will look to defend their state championship title.
Dan came into this job after more than 30 years in the field. He thought he knew it all, but he has changed his mind. “These students are bright and creative, and they are teaching me so many new things,” Dan said. “I want to make sure I leave the industry better with my teaching.”