I am an only child who grew up on a small, 4th generation farm in rural Arkansas. Like many kids from Southern Arkansas, I enjoy hunting, fishing, and trap shooting with my friends. In high school, I have been on the honor roll for 3 years, a member of the National Honor Society. I am an active member of the Future Farmers of America where I have served as our chapter's Chaplin for the last 3 years. I will be receiving my State FFA Degree this coming April and had the honor of traveling to Indianapolis in 2023 to attend the National FFA convention. I was awarded the AG Student of the Month by Farm Bureau Insurance in November 2024. I have been on the Livestock judging and Agronomy judging teams for 1 year. The state qualifying Wildlife judging team for 3 years. I played football for 3 years and basketball for 1 year. I was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 1 year. I have been a member of the trap shooting team for 5 years and have placed in the top shooting teams in the state of Arkansas twice. I have consistently been an active member of the Horatio Assembly of God youth group for the last 6 years. I will be attending University of Arkansas - Fort Smith to obtain an Associates of Applied Science in Welding Technology. After getting this degree I will then go to the Missouri Welding Institute to further my education. Welding holds my interest unlike anything else I have ever done. The first time I tried welding I remember being fascinated by the ability to take two pieces of metal and melt them into one permanent piece creating something new. I look forward to the opportunity of learning, the correct forms and techniques of welding through my schooling. At that point, I will be able to assist local farmers and my own family with projects that will hold up for a lifetime. Sometimes the smallest thing such as a properly hung gate in a cow lot can make peoples lives so much easier. Growing up on the farm you learn a little bit of everything from responsibility to becoming a jack of all trades. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand and think outside the box using what you have on hand to get the job done. I have helped weld up hay rings, trailers, broken gates, smokers and even made a few artistic pieces out of scrap. I have toured 3 welding schools, Tulsa Welding School, Missouri Welding Institute and UAFS. I am choosing to start my education at UAFS because they offer the Associates Degree in Welding. But, will continue on to Missouri to get the hands on real world experience. After receiving my degree I plan on focusing on pipeline or structural welding. I plan on traveling as much as possible while I am young and then later on looking for something in one permanent location. I look forward to utilizing the many job contacts I will make while in school.

I am an only child who grew up on a small, 4th generation farm in rural Arkansas. Like many kids from Southern Arkansas, I enjoy hunting, fishing, and trap shooting with my friends. In high school, I have been on the honor roll for 3 years, a member of the National Honor Society. I am an active member of the Future Farmers of America where I have served as our chapter's Chaplin for the last 3 years. I had the honor of traveling to Indianapolis in 2023 to attend the National FFA convention and was awarded the AG Student of the Month by Farm Bureau Insurance in November 2024. I have been on the Livestock judging and Agronomy judging teams for 1 year. The state qualifying Wildlife judging team for 3 years. I played football for 3 years and basketball for 1 year. I was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 1 year. I have been a member of the trap shooting team for 5 years and have placed in the top shooting teams in the state of Arkansas twice. I have consistently been an active member of the Horatio Assembly of God youth group for the last 6 years. I will be attending University of Arkansas - Fort Smith to obtain an Associates of Applied Science in Welding Technology. After getting this degree I will then go to the Missouri Welding Institute to further my education. Welding holds my interest unlike anything else I have ever done. The first time I tried welding I remember being fascinated by the ability to take two pieces of metal and melt them into one permanent piece creating something new. I look forward to the opportunity of learning, the correct forms and techniques of welding through my schooling. At that point, I will be able to assist local farmers and my own family with projects that will hold up for a lifetime. Sometimes the smallest thing such as a properly hung gate in a cow lot can make peoples lives so much easier. Growing up on the farm you learn a little bit of everything from responsibility to becoming a jack of all trades. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand and think outside the box using what you have on hand to get the job done. I have helped weld up hay rings, trailers, broken gates, smokers and even made a few artistic pieces out of scrap. I have toured 3 welding schools, Tulsa Welding School, Missouri Welding Institute and UAFS. I am choosing to start my education at UAFS because they offer the Associates Degree in Welding. But, will continue on to Missouri to get the hands on real world experience. After receiving my degree I plan on focusing on pipeline or structural welding. I plan on traveling as much as possible while I am young and then later on looking for something in one permanent location. I look forward to utilizing the many job contacts I will make while in school.

I will be attending University of Arkansas - Fort Smith to obtain an Associates of Applied Science in Welding Technology. After getting this degree I will then go to the Missouri Welding Institute to further my education. Welding holds my interest unlike anything else I have ever done. The first time I tried welding I remember being fascinated by the ability to take two pieces of metal and melt them into one permanent piece creating something new. I look forward to the opportunity of learning, the correct forms and techniques of welding through my schooling. At that point, I will be able to assist local farmers and my own family with projects that will hold up for a lifetime. Sometimes the smallest thing such as a properly hung gate in a cow lot can make peoples lives so much easier. Growing up on the farm you learn a little bit of everything from responsibility to becoming a jack of all trades. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand and think outside the box to get the job done. I have helped weld up hay rings, trailers, broken gates, smokers and even made a few artistic pieces out of scrap at home and my high school shop class. I have toured 3 welding schools, Tulsa Welding School, Missouri Welding Institute and UAFS. I am choosing to start my education at UAFS because they offer the Associates Degree in Welding. But, will continue on to Missouri to get the hands on real world experience. After receiving my degree I plan on focusing on pipeline or structural welding. I plan on traveling as much as possible while I am young and then later on looking for something in one permanent location. I look forward to utilizing the many job contacts I will make while in school.

1. I will be attending University of Arkansas - Fort Smith to obtain an Associates of Applied Science in Welding Technology. After getting this degree I will then go to the Missouri Welding Institute to further my education. 2. Welding holds my interest unlike anything else I have ever done. The first time I tried welding I remember being fascinated by the ability to take two pieces of metal and melt them into one permanent piece creating something new. I look forward to the opportunity of learning, the correct forms and techniques of welding through my schooling. At that point, I will be able to assist local farmers and my own family with projects that will hold up for a lifetime. Sometimes the smallest thing such as a properly hung gate in a cow lot can make peoples lives so much easier. 3. Growing up on the farm you learn a little bit of everything from responsibility to becoming a jack of all trades. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand and think outside the box using what you have on hand to get the job done. I have helped weld up hay rings, trailers, broken gates, smokers and even made a few artistic pieces out of scrap. 4. I have toured 3 welding schools, Tulsa Welding School, Missouri Welding Institute and UAFS. I have applied and been accepted to start my education at UAFS because they offer the Associates Degree in Welding. But, will continue on to Missouri to get the hands on real world experience. After receiving my degree I would like to focusing on pipeline or structural welding. I plan on traveling as much as possible while I am young and then later on looking for something in one permanent location. I look forward to utilizing the many job contacts I will make while in both schools. 5. If you contacted anyone I would have to say it should be my Ag Teacher, Terry Maye. He has not only recommended me for local honors but I am often his go to student for many of our agri projects. Mr. Maye knows that I have been working towards this for the last 2-3 years trying to learn as much as possible in our very limited environment. I am eager to start any project that he gives me and enjoy the felling of accomplishment when the task is complete.

I am an only child who grew up on a small, 4th generation farm in rural Arkansas. Like many kids from Southern Arkansas, I enjoy hunting, fishing, and trap shooting with my friends. This past summer I worked saving all my pay to purchase a small John Boat. It is the first large purchase I have worked for on my own and it has made me enjoy it even more. Growing up on the farm you learn a little bit of everything from responsibility to becoming a jack of all trades. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have on hand and think outside the box to get the job done. In high school, I have been on the honor roll for 3 years, a member of the National Honor Society, and have been taking AP and college classes for the last 2 years. I am an active member of the Future Farmers of America where I have served as our chapter's Chaplin for the last 3 years. I had the honor of traveling to Indianapolis in 2023 to attend the National FFA convention and was awarded the AG Student of the Month by Farm Bureau Insurance in November 2024. I have been on the Livestock judging and Agronomy judging teams for 1 year. The state qualifying Wildlife judging team for 3 years. I played football for 3 years and basketball for 1 year. I was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 1 year. I have been a member of the trap shooting team for 5 years and have placed in the top shooting teams in the state of Arkansas twice. I have consistently been an active member of the Horatio Assembly of God youth group for the last 6 years. Throughout my life, I have “farm welded” with my dad around the home. The first time I tried welding I remember being fascinated by the ability to take two pieces of metal and melt them into one permanent piece creating something new. This past summer I worked at a local golf cart shop mainly repairing carts but in my high school shop class, I have worked on many welding projects that we sell to raise money for our local FFA chapter. Such as deer blinds, a smoker, a hog trap, hand railings, fire pits, gates, hay rings, and a trailer. On the farm, I have welded up a firewood rack and also done repair work on a cow lot and a bush hog. I have also dabbled in the artistic welding of gifts for family and friends. I will be attending University of Arkansas- Fort Smith next fall to earn my degree of Associates of Applied Science in Welding Technology. Afterwards I plan on attending Missouri Welding Institute to farther my education in a live working environment and create even more employment contacts.I look forward look forward to the opportunity to learn the correct and different forms of welding. At this point, I am leaning more towards structural or pipeline welding but am open to whichever positions I would most excel in. I would enjoy traveling in my career but if the right permanent position came along I would be okay with that as well. I hope to have a better understanding of the career opportunities that are available once I have completed some of my schooling.