Still Building America: Lexi’s story—Do what you love, and love what you do

Lexi Noonan doing what she loves.

Lexi Noonan’s story should be told at every school board meeting when talks to cancel shop class are on the agenda. As a 15-year-old at Shawsheen Valley Tech, Billerica, Mass., Lexi needed to decide on a vocational direction for her education. She didn’t even know what welding was, but she’d “heard it was fun.”

As soon as the metal melting started, welding had its grip on her.

“We started off by learning oxy, followed by stick, MIG, and TIG. I loved the challenge of trying to get that perfect bead. Most of my [early] training at school was based around SMAW and learning how to make ductwork and do general sheet metal fab,” said Lexi.

“During my senior year I learned how to TIG weld and was instantly hooked. I found it to be more challenging than any other process I had tried thus far and was determined to master it.”

While still a senior in high school, Lexi started working for Cotter Brothers Corp., a fab shop that specializes in pharmaceutical and bio-tech fabrication work. Once she finished school, she stayed on at CBC, working her way up from a grinder to a full-time fabricator.

“Having to work my way up to where I'm at now was difficult, and more than a little frustrating at times, but if I had to do it all over again, I would.”

Currently 20-year-old Lexi and another of the shop’s fabricators build all of the stainless frames used to house the systems CBC produces. Despite the fact that nearly all of her welds end up polished off the final piece, she works to make every weld her best yet.

“My favorite part about my job is definitely the welding. I feel like I'm in competition with myself every time my hood drops, making every effort to make every bead better than the last.

“It’s kind of hard to describe, but to me at least, learning how to TIG [weld] and constantly trying to improve my skill set have always been a lot more of a mental push than anything else. Especially with stainless, where every move you make, heck, even a deep enough, breath can be enough to throw you off if you don't have that muscle memory dialed in.

“I feel like there's a lot more thinking involved with welding than most people would ever assume. I take a lot of pride in my work and am constantly pushing myself to try and make every weld cleaner, tighter, and more consistent than the last.”

Lexi Noonan at work.

Another part of the job she enjoys is the constant physical activity.

“I'd much rather spend the day on my feet, running around the shop, than sitting behind a desk all day.”

And working with good people helps. As important as it is to have a passion for your work, doing that work beside like-minded people who love what they do and are willing to share their experience creates a work environment that’s hard to beat. From Lexi’s perspective:

“It just makes coming in to work that much easier when you actually like the people you work with. Not only that, but I'm lucky enough that I get to work with a group of guys who have always been willing to lend a helping hand or give advice if I’m ever unsure of what to do next on a project. Working with people who understand that I'm still young and learning has been pretty great.”

While she’s happy with her progress and where she’s at, Lexi doesn’t rule out pushing herself down different welding-related career paths in the future. Emphasis on “welding related.”

“I really can't see myself doing anything other than welding/fabrication for the rest of my life. For me the thing I'm most concerned with is that I'm happy. I work because I enjoy it and it makes me happy, and the fact that my bills also get paid this way is pretty cool, if you ask me.”

When I asked her for advice she’d give to anyone else contemplating their own career path, her words were spot on:

“For anyone out there looking to get into the trades or just something different, I'd say go for it! I would never have guessed that welding would be one of my absolute favorite things up until I tried it, and because of that I feel like people should definitely consider branching out from their comfort zones more. What's the worst that could happen? You learn a new skill.”

And that’s just it. Maybe welding isn’t for you. Maybe construction, machining, or being a mechanic isn’t your thing either. In all honesty, you might be better off as a cook, or a doctor, or an engineer. But how will you know if you don’t even get a taste of what different careers have to offer? The more high schools that give you that chance, the better.

“I would've been absolutely lost if I had graduated from high school without learning a trade. Thankfully, that isn't the case. I wake up every day and actually enjoy going to work, something I feel like everyone should be able to say. Do what you love and love what you do, right?”

Right.

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