Walking into the fifth period, many students may be carrying welding helmets, shields, and all sorts of items that are used in a shop. Why would Lakeland High School students need such items?
These students are not just walking in from lunch and going to a regular class like English. They are going to the KTEC welding class.
This class is taught by Cory Pettit, a well-known face at LHS. His classroom, nestled in the back of the commons, is a large shop with welding booths, a plasma metal cutting table, grinders and so much more. Students in the KTEC welding class are not only here to learn how to weld, but they are also preparing for a life in the workforce and a life of industrial welding.
“I have these kids for three to four years, so I have an investment in them, and they are invested in the program,” Pettit said. “I’m trying to make sure these guys are ready for the real world and the industry.”
Pettit describes his students in KTEC welding as advanced students who are grateful for the advantages that come with being part of KTEC.
Pettit loves what he does with his kids. He describes working as a welding teacher as nothing other than “sweet!”
“I love it when students figure out what they’ve been working hard at and struggling with, and I like knowing the fact that they will go out in the workforce and represent me and our school very well,” Pettit said.
Connecting with and teaching teenagers can be difficult sometimes, but in a class like KTEC welding, Pettit does this every day.
While in the welding room, many things are happening all at once. Students grinding metal and sparks flying, yelling over the loud machinery, and shuffling all about one another, trying to get their work done.
Each person works separately but in unison, like busy bees doing their own assignments and working hard. The shop is like another world inside LHS.
One of the many students in this class is Kendall Pippin.
“It is intimidating being one of the only girls in there because there’s definitely some abrasion with the boys, but I hold my own and put them in their place,” said Pippin.
Pippin works hard in class because she can follow her passion and work towards something meaningful.
Unlike the typical shop class, the KTEC welding class ensures students like Pippin will graduate with their Idaho welding certification. This means they can go out and get a job or apprenticeship as a welder straight out of high school.
To students like Pippin, the class is a good mix of fun and challenging.
Connor Carvajal has been in the welding program all four years of high school. Carvajal has gone to the state competitions for welding at KTEC and participated in them. He says his greatest accomplishment is being able to compete in the welding competitions.
“I love the freedom we have in the class,” Carvajal said. “We can work on basically anything we want to.”
Carvajal also praises Pettit for being more like a mentor than a teacher to him.
“He cares for his students and wants to see you leave school as a different person than you started,” Carvajal said.
The environment of the KTEC welding class is structured to be safe and organized but balanced with freedom for the students to learn on their own and practice until they overcome their mistakes.
The students working in the shop are not just handling paper, pencils, and Chromebooks. They are working with dangerous tools that force them to pay attention and focus. The shop has metal shavings, sparks, flames, and many other things flying that require hard work and focus from students.
