Socorro High School welding students recently put the final touches on their capstone project – an automatic custom Socorro Warrior gate for the school entrance.
Kenny Gonzales, welding instructor, said the gate has a nameplate with students’ initials so that they can look back on it with pride. Gonzales’s goal is to mentor his students to be high-quality, career-ready welders who can be proud of their work.
“ I came in here with a very strong belief that not every kid is college bound and I looked at Socorro and we’re failing not only as a community, but even as a school that we’re not teaching them some type of skill,” Gonzales said, “Why can’t we get big companies here? Because we don’t have skilled labor.”
Gonzales said with welders in high demand, he tries to keep his classes relevant to industry changes. His curriculum offers students realistic hands-on experiences while solidifying core instruction, such as math.
“We are teaching them welding math which is a lot of fractions and a lot of geometry. They have to learn their angles and find diameters. If you get in the welding industry, you use math every day.” Gonzales said.
He believes in teaching students skills that they can use to start a career right out of high school. He spoke of many students, boys and girls, who have left high school with multiple welding certifications, on-the-job training and job opportunities.
Recently, he reapplied for a renovation grant that will hire and pay 25 students. He said it gives them a realistic experience of working in the welding industry because they learn to build a resume and then undergo an interview and testing process.
He said students have responded eagerly and enthusiastically to his voluntary, four-hour Friday class. He said he hopes the schools can stay on a four-day schedule so he can continue to develop the program.
According to Gonzales, for Socorro High School this is one part of the bigger picture. The goal is to grow dual credit and career technology education, including agriculture, culinary arts, sports medicine, and woodworking. He hopes to add other programs such as electrical, plumbing, fiber optic, nursing, and dental programs. Furthermore, with the new middle school being built nearby, he hopes also to engage the younger kids.
Gonzales has also been fostering mutually beneficial partnerships with nearby construction companies, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico Tech, and NRAO, which desperately need skilled workers.
“How do I keep our kids local? Let’s teach them these skills,” Gonzales said, “We are trying to give the kids different pathways to success.”
