Wagener-Salley’s welding program has created opportunities for students to gain professional experience while also leaving their legacy on their community.
Two Wagener-Salley Welding students, senior Robert Rodgers and junior Madeline Seals, created a brand-new sign above A.L. Corbett Middle School. The pair created the sign using the Wagener-Salley state-of-the-art welding laboratory.
This isn’t the first time Wagener-Salley welding students have taken advantage of opportunities provided by the Career Technology and Education Department (CTE) at the District Level. Last year, Wagener-Salley students also helped create a new sign at North Aiken Elementary.
“I really like the thought and the idea of it because students after they graduate can come back and show something and something like that will last for years,” Mr. Richard Bailey, Wagener-Salley High School welding instructor said. “They can come back and show their kids and say I built that when I was in high school. It gives them a sense of pride that they can look back on and say I did that.”
“Since I was in the sixth grade, I’ve wanted to be a welder because I got my inspiration from my dad,” Wagener-Salley junior Madeline Seals said. “I think being a part of welding and being able to participate in hands-on projects like this is kind of a feel of the real work and how its going to be whenever were out of here and making a bigger picture for ourselves.”
“I like welding because it gives me opportunities,” Wagener-Salley senior Robert Rodgers said. “I’ve been with Mr. Bailey and we’ve done some competitions in the past and he’s definitely pushed me to be something more and I’ve really enjoyed it. I love it and it makes me feel part of something.”
Welding students at Wagener-Salley, as well as CTE Welding programs across Aiken County Public Schools have worked hand in hand with town municipalities on welding projects to help provide professional opportunities to students prior to graduation.
The welding program at Wagener-Salley has grown to include Aiken High and Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High students who can use district transportation, adding increased enrollment to the program.
“We’re almost limitless now as to what we can make with the equipment the district has provided or the career center has provided us.” Bailey shared. “The opportunities are endless. If you look around the shop, you will see trailers and grills and statues or monuments or signs and we can do all of that with the equipment they have provided. It has opened it up and expanded what we can do as a department.”
“We’re trying to get them ready for a life and a career after they leave here, we want them to be successful. I look at them now as if they aren’t just my students now, they are my students when they graduate for life,” Bailey added. “Anything we can do to make them successful for that life journey we try to do. It’s important to us that we prepare them as best we can to get them ready for that.”
