Page 6 - TTWINov2020

Manufacturing
page 6 | Manufacturing Today Wisconsin | fall, 2020 Electronic Edition: www.manufacturingtodaywi.com

Welding News from Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District

female Welding Teacher Chippewa falls High School Awarded Welding grant
Inspires Students to Jonathan Hiebl tion including; One year welding diplomas,
welding-related union apprenticeship pro-
Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District
go into Trade Despite the chaos of 2020, the Technol- grams, and immediate skilled employment
A female Tech Ed teacher is paving the ogy Education Department at the Chippewa opportunities.
way for females in the field by teaching at a Falls Senior High has had an awesome year. In April, 2020, the department received
local middle school. In February, 2020, the department became additional good news as they were awarded
Maranda Degenhardt teaches welding a registered American Welding Society a $25,000 dollar grant from the American
to eighth graders Chippewa Falls Middle SENSE Training Organization. The AWS Welding Society (AWS) Foundation to
School. She became interested in tech ed in SENSE Program offers students the oppor- upgrade the current welding lab. The grant
middle school, starting with woodworking tunity to earn industry recognized welding was written and prepared by Laura Bushen-
classes. certificates while in high school. The SENSE dorf, Donna Goodman, Danielle hatfield,
“When I was in middle school we actu- Level I Program covers written and welder and Jonathan Hiebl. The school district
ally had these exploratory classes and one of workmanship tests using GMAW, SMAW, matched the grant amount for a project total
mine happened to be tech ed, and I thought FCAW, GTAW, oxyfuel, and plasma cutting of $50,000. The project funding provided 11
it was really cool to work with wood and processes on carbon steel, stainless steel, new multi-process welders, 2 new plasma
things like that,” she says. and aluminum. Full completion of the cutters, upgraded electrical in the lab, and
She continued to pursue tech ed SENSE program is very challenging with bought materials to fabricate and replace
throughout high school and college, and the wide variety of processes, weld prints, the welding booths. Students in the Welding
chose to come back to light the spark for and materials to cover. Students working Technology classes have been able to par-
eight graders at Chippewa Falls Middle through the welding career pathway at the ticipate in the renovations by welding and
School. She says some people were appre- high school have numerous employment fabricating the new booths that replaced the
hensive about a female welding teacher at and educational opportunities upon gradua- old outdated ones.
first.
“Originally they were like, you’re a think it pushes the boys because they try to tech ed classes. We’re showing that women can do it too,
girl, you know how to do this? It’s really compete against me, but it’s funny because “It’s really cool to see they’re taking and that’s what’s really important, cause
cool to show up the boys sometimes where the girls are usually better.” these classes because of me,” she says. we don’t just need men in the trades but we
I’m like, yeah, I do know how to do this, I Degenhardt is glad that representing “They’re like, ‘we like you as a person
can do it, you can do it too now. And so I females in trade is inspiring students to take but we also like what you’re standing for’. Continued on page 7

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