EWC Welding Student Competes in National Competition
November 18, 2004
(Torrington, WY)
Chance Pollo never thought that it would end up like this when he attended high school welding classes taught by Henry Woehl in Douglas, WY. He is now attending the Eastern Wyoming College Welding Program in his second year. In these two years he has gained the skills it takes to be one of the top welders in our region. He has been invited to compete in an American Welding Society Pretrial, chosen out of 100 competitors by a SkillsUSA Welding Contest. He joins 11 top welding students from all over the United States to compete in this pretrial. Pollo will have to weld 36 different welds and 2 pressure vessels from now until March 2005, sending the welds in every two weeks. These welds are being sent in to leading welding companies for inspection. Russell Pontarolo, EWC Welding Instructor commented, "The pretrials are designed to challenge, frustrate, and bring forward only the most willing competitors." After the pretrials, 6 of the top 12 welding students will then be chosen to compete in the U.S. Open Weld Trials held in Dallas, TX in April. The winner from that competition will then travel to Helsinki, Finland to compete in the 38th World Skills Competition in conjunction with the AWS Show and Convention with 14,000 people in attendance in May. The winner will also receive a $40,000 scholarship.
"The American Welding Society is not only looking for the best welder but is also looking for someone to represent the industry well", commented EWC instructor Leland Vetter.
Pollo stated, "I'm extremely anxious for the results of the final six. I've worked very hard to come this far and hope to be one of the finalists."
For more information about the EWC Welding Department, please contact Pontarolo at 307.532.8274 or Vetter at 307.532.8275.
