I am currently a high school student in Craig Alaska, working two jobs, and attending high school while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I have started a personal metal art business to assist in paying for tools, equipment and other items needed for my industrial welding program which begins in August 2024 in Seward Alaska. I also work at Fireweed Lodge in Klawock Alaska, as a server, housekeeper and dish washer 5 days a week averaging 30 hrs. Time management is a crucial skill, I am learning on a daily basis. Good time management allows me to be successful at my new personal business which is an outlet for my artistic abilities. Working at the lodge provides a way for me to reach financial goals I have set for myself. Time management allows me to balance these jobs with all the requirements of working, creating artwork, and also spending time with my family and enjoying all the outdoor activities I enjoy participating in. My goal in life is to eventually own my own metal working business and shop. I plan to do this through hard work, dedication, developing good work habits and maintaining a hard work ethic. This line of work (industrial welding) is not going to be an 8 to 4 job, it will often require long days, few days off, and sometimes stretches of time away from home. Time management will be an essential skill to balance work, rest, and personal life/relationship aspects. So far I have been successful at time management, which has allowed me work, create art, pursue outdoor recreational activities, spend time with my family, and maintain my 4.0 GPA. Thanks for your consideration.

I have moved up here to Alaska from Tennessee this year to finish my senior year of high school. I had never welded before and once I started my new school, I joined their welding class and began to weld, and started to learn the metal fabrication trade. At first I struggled, all of my classmates had previously been in the welding class the year before and were working on community projects. Being the newcomer in the class, I lagged behind but after much determination I was able to catch up to their level in only a few months. With support from friends and family, a couple of months later I applied and have been accepted to go to the Alaska Vocational and Technical Center in Seward, Alaska for their industrial welding program in the fall of 2024. I have only been welding for 9 months but I have been constantly gaining skills in metal sheet working, a multitude of skills in different types of welding, and being able to use my natural artistic abilities and problem solving skills. I am pursuing a career in the industrial welding field because I feel that you should work in a job that expresses your natural talents and that you enjoy most importantly and to me, welding does both of those things for me. Welding allows me to utilize my natural creativity, quick problem solving skills and it lets me express my passion for art but in a much more important and utilized way. It also encourages me to be an inspiration to others, especially females. As a female myself, I am very grateful to have the support that I have had but unfortunately I know there are young women in the world that do not have that type of support. I want to encourage them to continue to explore the trades as valuable and fulfilling career opportunities. Welding is becoming a dying trade and if I can help or even encourage others to look into and support the metal fabrication industry then we can turn the tables and bring back the industry that helped build the world we live in. My first step is already in the process. Once I complete the industrial welding program at the Alaska Vocational and Technical Center, I will become a nationally certified welder and will continue to work until I have made a difference in the trade industry and I hope that I will have inspired others to continue the path that I am going and that they can branch off into their own success.

I am pursuing a job in the Industrial Welding industry as a female welder in the state of Alaska and will be attending the industrial welding program at Alaska Vocational and technical center (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska. I've always been a talented artist and I believe that you should work in a job that you love, that can express your individual talents and is just the overall best job that suits your needs. Welding lets me express myself as an individual and lets me use my natural creativity and artistic talent. I found that welding gives me an escape from the world and lets me be myself while also helping the community. I want to be able to say “I Welded on that object” and know that I've left my mark in my community and that I am continuously helping to expand the small island I live on. After I Graduate AVTEC, I will be a nationally certified welder and my plan is to work in an ship repair apprenticeship and work my way up in the welding industry until I have enough money, time and knowledge to open my own business in metal fabrication and welding in the state of Alaska. Throughout my career, I would like to be known for being a hard worker, able to accomplish challenging tasks, and being one of the growing number of female welders. As a young woman I hope to be an example to inspire other women to step out of their comfort zone by trying and working in new processes. I've had people tell me that welding is a man's job and that a girl like me could never make it in the trades. Being the very determined person that I am, I will not stop until I've proved them wrong. Being able to prove that a woman can do a trade that is densely populated by a man, especially in a state that doesn't have much support, grows my determination even more to inspire and be the best that I can. Being successful isn't all about being rich and having the most expensive items. To me it's about being able to do stuff on your own and not having to rely on others. It's about being content with life and enjoying it to its fullest. Where you are able to set goals and be able to achieve them when you want. Being successful is different for everyone but in the end, we all focus around the same thing, which is to enjoy life and to be happy and that is why I am pursuing this career because it makes me successful.

I've alway been that little girl that draws all over and now that I'm older, welding allows me to be able to be passionate about welding and spread my art all around. For my first main life goal, I want to have a career in welding so that I can express my art and passion in the field of welding while also helping the people and businesses around me. I live in a small fishing town of Alaska and every time I go by the ship port, I can see people, welding huge steel plates, to the ships and it amazes me. Seeing that wants me to be that person, working on the ship, helping the captain fix his boat and helping the community. Once that ship gets welded and back into the water it can continue to do its jobs whether it's commercial fishing or pulling barges. Everyone comes together to help the community, and for my second life goal, I want to join in and do my part to help. I have been accepted into the Industrial Welding program at Alaska Vocational and Technical Education Center (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska in the fall of 2024 and with your scholarship I will be able to help pay for the tuition at AVTEC and continue my first goal of expressing my passion of welding while also partially completing my second goal of being able to help the my community and other welders in the trade. Once I graduate from AVTEC, I plan to work in an apprenticeship in pipeline welding and continue to go up the ranks until I have the resources and knowledge to start my own welding business and continue to express my passion in welding and also employ others who want to explore the world of welding and help them to express their technique and passion in the metal fabrication industry. I feel once I can put my plan into action that it will become a major way of how I can give back and express my gratitude to my community while also fulfilling my dream and career goals of being one of the growing members of the female welding field. I hope you will greatly consider me for your scholarship and help me work towards my goal(s) of spreading my passion as a welder and helping me to be a part of the people trying to build back up the welding community and trade that is slowly declining.

When I was little, I can remember running around in my home town in Benton, Tennessee and playing on farm equipment and when I would stop and sit down, I would notice lines on certain parts of the equipment. I always wonder what that was and now that I'm older, I know what it was. As I lived in Tennessee and went to school, I had never taken notice or been interested in the welding class that my school had offered but now that I have just recently moved from my home in Tennessee to a small fishing community in Alaska this summer to finish my senior year of high school, I started to be interested in welding. When I was picking out my classes for the year, I picked to join their welding class, at first it was full but before the year started, a spot opened up in the class and I managed to get in. When I started welding I had no idea what to do, but as I kept practicing and getting help from my teacher and other students I started to get really good. I've been able to weld many different things like trailers and gun range targets while also being able to use all types of welding machines which include Stick, Mig and Tig. I’ve also been able to keep my grades all at an A with a 3.2 GPA and due to that, I have been able to become a teacher's assistant for two out of six classes throughout the day. I've alway loved to draw from when I was little to even being a young adult and I've found that welding allows me to be able to express my artistic skill. I want to have a career in welding so that I can express my art and passion in the field of welding, while also helping the people and businesses around me. Every time I go by the ship port, I can see people welding huge steel plates to the ships and it amazes me. Seeing that wants me to be that person, working on the ship, helping the captain fix his boat and helping the community. Once that ship gets welded and back into the water it can continue to do its jobs whether it's commercial fishing or pulling barges. Everyone comes together to help the community, and I want to join in and do my part to help. I know with my unwavering determination and skill, I will be able to help my community and be a part of the growing welding industry. I have been accepted in the the Alaska Vocational and Technical Center in Seward, Alaska in the fall of 2024 and I plan to work as a apprentice to work up the ranks of a union until I have enough resources to open my own welding business.

1. I am pursuing a job in the Industrial welding industry as a female welder once I complete the industrial welding program at Alaska Vocational and technical center (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska . I've always loved to draw when I was a kid and to me welding lets me express myself, whether it's in a weld or even having to cut something with a plasma cutter. Welding gives me an escape from the world and lets me be myself while also helping the community. I want to be able to say “I Welded on that ship” as it drops a load of fish at the docks and to know that I help give back to the community as I welded on that ship. It makes me feel good when I see the bead I layed and to know that that weld is helping bring something that will help the current and the future people of my small town. 2. After I Graduate AVTEC I plan to work as an apprentice and work my way up in the welding industry until I have enough money, time and knowledge to open my own business in metal fabrication and welding in the state of Alaska. As I work as an apprentice, I also plan to simultaneously work on my CDL so that I can begin to gain the knowledge and skills needed to operate and start my own heavy equipment business. 3. In just recent times I have had to experience my parents going through a divorce and also that me and my dad were set to move from Tennessee to Alaska. I am also currently in my senior year of high school and moving from down south to up north was a bit of a culture shock to me. All of my friends and family were down south and I have struggled to make new friends but I have been able to talk and express myself more and become friends with some teachers and some students in my grade. For me the easiest way to get through was to not let hateful comments get to me and to focus on the friends I have made and my favorite class which was welding. Due to my focus and friendliness I have been able to become a teacher assistant and now have two full hours out of the school day to work on my passion, welding.

Ever since I was little, I can remember running around and playing on heavy duty pieces of machinery and when I would stop and sit down, I would notice lines on certain parts of the equipment. I always wonder what that was and now that I'm older, I know what it was. They were welds. I know that because I've been able to weld those same smooth lines over and over again and yet I never get tired of striking the arc or getting into that motion of moving the rod. I've alway been that little girl that paints and draws all over and now that I'm older, welding allows me to be able to spread my art all around. I want to have a career in welding so that I can express my art in welds while also helping the people and businesses around me. I live in a small fishing town of Alaska and every time I go by the ship port, I can see people welding huge steel plates to the ships and it amazes me. Seeing that wants me to be that person, working on the ship, helping the captain fix his boat and helping the community. Once that ship gets welded and back into the water it can continue to do its jobs whether it's commercial fishing or pulling barges. Everyone comes together to help the community, and I want to join in and do my part to help. Once I am able to and have the knowledge too, I plan to start my own welding business and continue to express my passion in welding and also employ others who want to explore the world of welding and help them to express their technique and passion in the metal fabrication industry. I feel once I can put my plan in action that it will become a major way of how I can give back and express my gratitude to my community. I've been accepted into the Industrial Welding program at Alaska Vocational and Technical Education Center (AVTEC) in Seward Alaska in the fall of 2024 and with your scholarship I will be able to help pay for the tuition at AVTEC and continue my goal of expressing my passion of welding while also being able to help the my community and other welders. I hope you will consider me for your scholarship and help me work towards my goal of spreading my passion as a welder.