Female students learn welding skills

MARION - Going strictly by the numbers, the field of professional welding in the United States remains a man's world.

However, four young women from Tri-Rivers Career Center in Marion are staking their claims to positions within the industry and enjoying success as they train for the future. Juniors Dakota Crum, Andrea DePolo, Samantha Strow and Brooke Wolfe are the only females in the class of 32 currently enrolled in the welding program, according to Instructor Obra Horn.

"Traditionally, in the welding industry, there's not a lot of females out there," Horn said. "These four young ladies come to school and work just as hard or harder than my boys in the program. Their willingness to learn and absorb all of the information that we give them has been incredible. And their skill sets have improved so much."

According to statistics from the American Welding Society, the U.S. economy includes 388,000 welding jobs, and another 111,000 positions will need to be filled within the next five years. Only 3 percent of the professional welding jobs in the nation are occupied by women. By percentage, Tri-Rivers is well ahead of the current statistics, with females making up 12.5 percent of its welding program.

Horn said in spite of the low numbers of women working in the industry, he believes women actually have an advantage over men in the finer points of the trade.

"Typically, a young lady, if they're not intimidated by the noise and the sparks and the heat, females actually make better welders than guys," Horn said. "Females typically pay more attention to detail and the dexterity in their hands and fine motor skills make them better welders than guys."

Meet the girls

Crum and DePolo have been friends for many years, dating back to elementary school in the Cardington-Lincoln Schools, and have remained close during their time in high school, where they are both involved in athletics.

Crum, who is also a cheerleader at Cardington-Lincoln, applied to the program three times before a place opened for her. She said receiving notice that she had been accepted was significant. Now that she's in the program, Crum said she knows she's in the right place.

"The feeling that I can do it, and that it's good, and I have a steady hand, it's very relaxing when you can listen to music and do whatever you want," she said. "You can do any kind of weld you want and just go by your pace. It's relieving that no one's on your back, pressuring you, telling you what to do. So that's kind of relaxing. It's a big stress reliever for me."

DePolo said she enjoys the competition and camaraderie that she's experienced within the Tri-Rivers program.

"I like the challenges that we have to do," she said. "And the people around here bring you up. They don't criticize you or anything like that. I look forward to coming to school to be in this lab with everybody."

Strow, who is a student at Marion Harding High School, said she has discovered that welding is a relaxing activity for her and appeals to her tomboy nature.

"I listen to music when I weld," she said. "And I like the feeling of being able to work on my own. I've always been the girl that kind of stays away from other girls. I don't have much in common with other girls. I've been into cars my whole life, and that's pushed me more toward a guy profession, I guess."

Strow noted that she has built solid relationships with her classmates and gained the respect of the boys in the class.

"It's more of a guy profession, but girls get respect when we're actually good at it," she said. "I think most of the girls in the welding class have been tomboys, so we're used to being around guys."

Wolfe came to Tri-Rivers from North Union High School. Her first experience with Tri-Rivers came during eighth grade when she visited the campus for Exploring Careers Day. She said her interest in motorcycle racing is what drew her to the welding program.

"I race motocross and welding subframes kind of interested me, so that's why I chose welding," she said. "I've been racing for about a year now."

Wolfe had a clear message for students considering joining the Tri-Rivers welding program.

"I would tell them that this is the place to be if you love welding," she said. "Everyone around you here is your best friend."

Help from friends

DePolo and Crum agreed that entering a male-dominated program was at first intimidating, but they found strength in their friendship.

"It was easier with Dakota here because I knew her, and I was actually kind of scared, but she helped me," DePolo said. "We helped each other, I think."

"It was nice to have someone to talk to, that's not a guy," Crum said, laughing.

Crum and DePolo each took a national certification test recently and are waiting for the results of the examination. They were both confident that they performed well on the test.

Wolfe said she has enjoyed developing friendships with her classmates.

"I love how everyone is giving me confidence in myself, because I always think I'm not going to be the best welder, and they give me confidence," she said.

Each student in the Tri-Rivers welding program wears a shirt that bears the slogan "Team Weld" across the back. DePolo said those words hold a deeper meaning for her and the rest of the class.

"We're a family," she stated without hesitation. "We consider ourselves family. We're so close. And it's not like we're separated, juniors and seniors, we're all together. We help each other."

Future plans

Crum plans to pursue a degree at The Ohio State University in hopes of becoming a welding engineer. She said if that doesn't work out, she will apply for an internship at Vaughn Industries.

DePolo said she will weigh multiple options for life after graduation, either pursuing a career with Union Tank Car Company or obtaining a degree from Ohio State with the goal of becoming a welding engineer.

Strow said she wants to work in the welding industry after she graduates, but hasn't ruled out pursuing a college degree.

After graduating from Tri-Rivers, Wolfe said she plans to attend Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio. Her career goal is to be an underwater welder in the United States Navy.

eacarter@gannett.com

740-375-5154

Twitter: @AndrewCarterMS