Welding camp helps students build connections, confidence

MATC Portage hosted 13 students at its Advanced Welding Camp in late July. Students spent the week gas tungsten arc welding; shielded metal arc welding; and using the ironworker, band saw, and other metalworking tools.

It was a relatively comfortable mid-July day in southern Wisconsin—sunny with a few clouds dotting the sky and temperatures that hovered around 80 degrees with low humidity—a perfect Midwestern summer day. With the garage door open near the back of the shop, a slight breeze blew through the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) welding lab at its Portage campus, providing a natural cooling effect for the 13 middle and high school-aged students buzzing around, going from weld booth to ironworker to instructor.

Some campers were hanging out near the garage door, putting the finishing touches on a custom fire pit. Others were doubled up in a booth—one with the TIG torch running a bead while the other watched. Another student, a young girl, was getting one-on-one instruction on how to run the Bridgeport mill.

It was nearly the end of the weeklong camp and students were furiously working on finishing their projects and soaking up all they could before it was all over. Not too long ago, Oleg Novinski, 19, of Waunakee, Wis., was one of those students. He took welding courses all through high school and really enjoyed them. He had planned on attending MATC Portage Campus to take even more welding classes when he learned about a welding camp the school was hosting.

“I got an email about the camp and I thought it sounded cool. I decided to do it because it was summer and I was only working part-time, so I had some free time on my hands,” Novinski said.

He didn’t know it at the time, but enrolling in a weeklong welding camp at MATC Portage was the little boost he needed to evolve from a kid who liked welding into a young man working as a full-time stainless steel TIG welder.

That’s where Novinski met weld instructor Shaun Walker. Anyone who either knows Walker or has seen him in action can tell that he loves his job. At Advanced Welding Camp – Helping Our Community, hosted by MATC Portage Campus in July, Walker bounced from booth to booth, giving feedback, checking welds, discussing technique, and providing encouragement to campers.

“Hand’s down, he’s the best teacher I ever came across for welding. He loves it,” Novinski said.

Word-of-Mouth

MATC Portage has been hosting welding and manufacturing-related camps since 2018, beginning with Fun With Torches, thanks to a grant from the Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Foundation, the official foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association. It started Advanced Welding Camp in 2019, also with a grant from the foundation.

The camps are so popular, said Linda Nellen, campus manager, there’s typically a waiting list.

Manufacturing and welding camps not only provide students with hands-on experience, they build confidence and connect campers with mentors who can foster that spark of talent.

“It’s mostly because of word-of-mouth. I do post information about the camp everywhere and on social media, but a lot of the interest is generated from families who have sent their kids here before. They’ll talk about it with their neighbors or friends, and then they call us wanting to send their kids. I already have six people on the wait list for next summer,” Nellen explained.

Campers, under the direction and supervision of Walker and other MATC welding instructors, spent the week building welding tables and a custom fire ring. They spent two days working on shielded metal arc welding; two days gas tungsten arc welding; and got experience using the ironworker, band saw, and other metalworking tools.

The Lincoln Electric Co. provided the welding gloves and jackets for each student to wear during the camp and take home once it ended. Each year Nellen has found a sponsor company to pay for each camper’s tuition ($59). This year Robbins Mfg., Fall River, Wis., sponsored 20 campers; the Portage Lions Club stepped in and sponsored 12; and a private donor made a $1,000 donation.“I don’t want money to be the reason a kid can’t come to a camp. In the four years we’ve hosted camps, students have never had to pay for it out of pocket.”

No camp can be successful without energetic and knowledgeable instructors who can teach what can be for some intimidating processes, make them fun, yet keep students on task to complete projects.

“Shaun loves welding, and he shares that love of welding with all of his students, and they get excited about it. We are very fortunate to have him and Rich Hemler,” said Nellen.

That's What They Said

Novinski is now working full-time at Lyco Mfg. Inc. in nearby Columbus, Wis., a maker of food processing equipment. He does mostly stainless steel TIG welding and likes that every day is different.

He’s come a long way and he credits the camp for being a part of preparing him for his career.

“When I was at the camp, I wasn’t a good welder. There were times when it was really tough and I questioned why I even did it in the first place. But Shaun was there and he’d encourage me to just try it again, and keep trying.”

His story is just one example of the positives that come from giving middle school- and high school-age kids the opportunity to experiment with welding, fabricating, and the skilled trades in general. Not only does it provide them with opportunities to get some hands-on experience, it builds confidence and connects them with teachers who can serve as mentors, foster talent, and perhaps even match them up with local employers.

Instructor Shaun Walker bounced from booth to booth, giving feedback, checking welds, discussing technique, and providing encouragement to campers.

Wesley Slack, 15, already knows he wants to be a welder. He attended the Advanced Welding Camp and has been to a total of three MATC welding camps. He knew Walker, who worked for Slack’s father at one point. Walker taught Slack how to weld in his home shop and now he’s learning from him again at camp. Slack enjoys gas metal arc welding and is just now starting to get into GTAW.“Welding is just fun. This is what I want to do when I grow up. I don’t know exactly what kind of welder I want to be, but I know I want to do it,” Slack said.

Alex Hartwig, an eighth-grader at Bartels Middle School in Portage, isn’t sure if he wants to be a welder just yet, but he’s enjoying it so far.

“It could turn into a job someday, or maybe I’ll just use it as a hobby,” said Hartwig.

Tiare Stritter, 14, is relatively new to welding. She was the only girl in this particular camp session and hopes to one day learn enough to teach her dad, who used to weld, a few things. She also had a request:

“I think more girls should be in this camp.”