I’ve always known that I am good with my hands. From a very young age I liked to see how things work. I could take things apart and put them back together. I could assemble toys without help or a manual. I enjoyed making things from nothing. I just thought it was fun but I realized it was actually a blessing when I was diagnosed with dyslexia, which makes reading and writing challenging. So schoolwork was definitely not easy for me. It's also really hard to struggle in school while you watch your friends get everything so easily. I think I would have felt very badly about myself if I didn’t realize that I had other talents. My mother always told me that I would be successful despite my challenges if I just worked hard so I have really pushed myself to do that. When I reached high school my mother encouraged me to take my first metalworking class and I was hooked. My teacher noticed how interested I was in what we were learning and he helped me a lot. He suggested that I take the two-year welding course at our local vocational-technical high school when I became a junior. This program allowed me to be in the welding shop for half a day, every day. It even gave me the opportunity to earn my first welding certification. It was so great to be in that environment for the last two years of high school. I won three performance awards during my time there, which was amazing to me. I never could have imagined winning a school award before I found welding and it gave me an enormous sense of confidence in myself. My goals in life are to be happy and successful. I think all the time about my father and how proud he would be of me starting out on this path. He also had trouble learning in school when he was young but he was also good with his hands, and he became a successful tradesman. So I see a lot of him in myself. I can remember watching (safely of course!) my dad weld things in our garage. The sparks fascinated me and I loved seeing how he could make broken things good as new again. He passed away when I was 6 years old but I know that he would be very proud to know I’ll become a welder and to know that he helped inspire it. This scholarship would help my family be able to afford the welding school tuition. This past summer I got my very first job welding, thanks to the certification I got through my school. I have tried to put away as much money as I can but everything is so expensive right now. Besides money, I have been earning a lot of knowledge on the job. I’ve learned so much already and it’s been an amazing experience to use the skills I learned in school out in the real world. So i know that going to trade school will take me even further and I am so grateful to be given an opportunity to get this education. I hope one day to be a traveling welder so I can always have new experiences and travel around our country, or maybe become a welding teacher so that I can help kids just like my teachers helped me!

I’ve always known that I am good with my hands. From a very young age I liked to see how things work. I could take things apart and put them back together, and assemble toys without any help or a manual. I enjoyed making things out of nothing. It was fun for me but I realized it was actually a blessing when I was diagnosed in third grade with dyslexia and dysgraphia, which make reading and writing extremely difficult. Because of these challenges, schoolwork was very hard for me. I think I would have felt very badly about myself if I didn’t learn that I had other talents. My mother always told me that I would be successful despite my challenges if I just worked hard so I have really pushed myself to do that. When I reached high school my mom encouraged me to take my first metalworking class and I was hooked. I took all the classes my school offered so then my teacher recommended I move on to the vocational high school to take their welding program. I have really enjoyed my two years there. The best thing about it has been learning that I could be really good at something. I have won a performance award in each semester I have been there, which is something I never could have imagined. Me, winning a school award! I am so grateful to my metal shop teacher and my mom for inspiring me to pursue a career in welding. I have given a lot of thought to my future and what my five-year plan might look like. I know that the first year will be spent at Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio. It's far away from my home in New Jersey but I will learn so much there. Once I receive my education I know I will enter the workforce but I’m not exactly sure just yet which exact path I’ll choose. I know I could join a union like the pipefitters and work my way up from apprentice to journeyman. But I think the best way I could give back would be to become a welding instructor and inspire another kid to follow this path, just like my teachers have done for me. Or maybe eventually a welding inspector, helping to keep the community safe. The one thing I know for sure is that if I work really hard I will be prepared for whatever welding career I end up choosing. Aside from my career, my goals in life are to be happy and successful and I believe my welding career will help me start to achieve those goals. I think all the time about how my father also had trouble learning in school when he was young. He was also good with his hands and he became a tradesman after high school, a carpenter, and he was successful. So I see a lot of him in myself. He passed away when I was 6 years old but I know that he would be very proud that I’m going to become a welder.

I am so excited to be pursuing a career in welding after high school. School has always been very difficult for me. In third grade I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia, which make reading and writing extremely challenging. But I was always good with my hands. From a young age I liked to see how things work. I could take things apart and put them back together. I could assemble toys without help or a manual. My mother always told me that I would be successful if I just worked hard so I have really pushed myself to do that. When I reached high school she encouraged me to take my first metalworking class and I was hooked. My teacher noticed how interested I was in what we were learning and he suggested that I take the two-year welding course at our local vocational high school when I was a junior. This program has allowed me to be in the welding shop for half a day, every day. It’s been my happy place, and it’s even giving me the opportunity to earn my first welding certification. The best thing about the program was that I saw that I could be really good at something. I won two performance awards there during my first year. That used to be impossible to imagine -- me, winning a school award! In the fall I will be attending Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio. It’s far from my home in New Jersey but I’m excited to go. My goals in life are to be happy and successful and I think my welding career will help me start to achieve those goals. I think all the time about how proud my father would be of me graduating high school and starting out on this path. He also had trouble learning in school when he was young but he was also good with his hands, and after high school he became a tradesman and he was successful. So I see a lot of him in myself. He passed away when I was 6 years old and I know that he would be bursting with pride to know I’ll become a welder. I can picture myself someday teaching welding or metalworking to high school students because I am so thankful that I had great teachers who showed me that I can be a success no matter what challenges I may face.