All JCHS welding students who take test are certified

EDUCATION

  • Pictured are (front row, l-r); Devin Goetz, Chase Baker, Carson Lumley, Will Wood, Mickey Corley, C.J. Scott, Waylon Horsting and Brandon Keith Gattie; (back row) S. Mark Smith, Jacob Bridgeman, Matthew Nasworthy, Elijah Ammons, Nathan Creamer, Connor Bass, Parker_Henley, Caden Hurst, Dillan Cable and Samuel Jackson. CONTRIBUTED
    Pictured are (front row, l-r); Devin Goetz, Chase Baker, Carson Lumley, Will Wood, Mickey Corley, C.J. Scott, Waylon Horsting and Brandon Keith Gattie; (back row) S. Mark Smith, Jacob Bridgeman, Matthew Nasworthy, Elijah Ammons, Nathan Creamer, Connor Bass, Parker_Henley, Caden Hurst, Dillan Cable and Samuel Jackson. CONTRIBUTED

    A small ceremony was held last week to recognize a big accomplishment for 16 welding students at Jones County High School.

    The students underwent testing by a technical trainer with Norfolk Southern, and all 16 passed the tests. The students were awarded AWS welding certificates at the May 15 ceremony by Keith Brandon Gattie, who is the Director of Technical Training at Norfolk Southern.

    The Norfolk Southern Training Center is an_Accredited Testing Facility for the American Welding Society. AWS-approved welding certification indicates that a welder has completed a nationally recognized test, which demonstrates the ability to perform a sound weld for a specific process in accordance with industry standards.

    Gattie is a former JCHS student and said he performs the testing as a way to give back to the community. All-in-all, this year’s students racked up 195 separate welding credentials collectively. Welding student Parker Henley received 24 of those certifications.

    The JCHS welding class is taught by S. Mark Smith, who has announced he will be retiring at the end of the school year. He said he believes in a strict standard when it comes to class attendance and only allows three absences.

    Smith said the class had 29 students at the beginning of the year.

    Gattie said having all the students who took the nationally accredited tests pass is rare. He explained some of the students took the flat test, and others took the advanced 3G and 4G tests, which are extremely hard.

    The trainer told the students the certification would look good on their resume wherever they decide to work. He went on to say, as far as he knew, JCHS was the only high school to participate in the testing.

    Gattie told the students the certification was good for life as long as they kept it current.

    Graduation Coach Stacey Williams said many of the welding students are graduating under option B. That means students can use their welding certifications as non-traditional path to a high school diploma.

    She said there are other certifications besides welding that are covered under option B, but welding is the only one offered at JCHS.

    “Welding has exploded under option B, and we no longer have enough room in our lab to accommodate all of the students that are interested in that pathway.Going to the Central Georgia Technical College campus to get the certification is encouraged for the overflow students,” Williams said.

    She said welding student Samuel Jackson is a junior but can graduate this year under Option B.