Western Nevada College has extended its welding instruction reach to Hawthorne this spring, and so far, Introduction to Welding is being embraced by high school students and community members.
The course began on Feb. 8 and is being offered in a three-hour block on Tuesday nights.
James Richards, who owns and operates Woodys Automotive and Towing in Hawthorne, has 12 students in the class and is enjoying his foray into teaching.
Theres been a great turnout, said Richards, who reached a class capacity of 15 students earlier in the semester, but several students needed to drop the course because of schedule conflicts. Showing people welding is absolutely fantastic. Im really enjoying it.
Richards dad taught him how to weld as a child and hes honed those skills as a full-time diesel mechanic and working out of his metal fabrication shop at home.
Im a major enthusiast of welding. I probably weld 5 to 12 times per week, he said.
For spring semester, Richards said that the No. 1 priority is to get students familiar with welding processes and comfortable around every machine. If students develop their skills further, Richards said welders are very employable and can save money at home by repairing broken belongings.
Especially nowadays with the pandemic, Richards said. Instead of throwing away something that is broken, we can fix it with a weld. Its awesome to have that skill.
Mineral County High School students can take Introduction to Welding for three credits.
For more information about the class, phone Jessica Rowe, director of WNCs Fallon campus and rural outreach, at 775-445-3380 or email her at jessica.rowe@wnc.edu.