A pair of local students score big in Florida welding contest.
A pair of student welders at Cedartown High School made recent waves after winning a national competition down in the sunshine state.
Chandler Cowan and J.T. McCollum, seniors at Cedartown High school and welding students at Polk County College and Career Academy, spent several months preparing for a competition for the Tulsa Welding School.
“The recruiter from Tulsa Welding School came to speak to my students and told them about this competition and how they could win scholarships if they wanted to compete,” said Matt Hayden, welding instructor at the College and Career Academy. “Both students asked if I could help them practice for this contest and I was more than glad to help them, they are the first of my students to go and compete. But I doubt they would be the last.”
Sure enough, both learned their trade well from Hayden and won big.
Both Cowan and McCollum won $ 1,000 scholarships, along with $ 500 to $ 800 worth of welding equipment at the Tulsa Welding School Invitational competition on Saturday, February 25 in Jacksonville Florida.
The pair were tested their skills in welding, which required them to follow a blueprint and assemble and build a test project that was then judged by personnel from the school. 270 students from 11 differ- ent states at the competition and both placed in the top 10, with Cowan taking a fourth place spot and McCollum finishing in 10th place.
“I am so proud of the hard work and dedication of these young men and I know they both will have a bright future ahead,” Hayden said.