Welding students spark attention with scholarship awards
Two welding engineering technology students at Utah State University, Jonathon M. Stewart and Dusti Jones, secured scholarships from the American Welding Society Foundation for this school year.
Stewart, a senior, was awarded the William B. Howell Memorial Scholarship – named in honor of the former Hobart Brothers Company vice president.
Jones, also a senior, was presented the Edward J. Brady Memorial Scholarship – named for a pioneer in welding research.
“The Selection Committee, a subsidiary of the Education Scholarship Committee, rated each applicant for the individual scholarships and selected the recipients based on criteria determined by the donor,” said Vicki Pinsky, scholarship manager of the AWS Foundation. “The Selection Committee is composed of welding professionals and educators.”
“There is a whole package of scholarships and you apply for each one individually. Some require an essay, autobiography or other information. Most are based on need, how well you write, past experience and if they think you will finish the program,” Stewart said.
Stewart served in the Army for four years. He then met his wife and earned an associate’s degree in welding from Salt Lake Community College. Following graduation, he “jumped right into” his career.
“Pretty soon I realized that I could top out [professionally] in two years. So I decided to continue in school. I had heard about Utah State’s program when I was in Salt Lake and decided to come here,” Stewart said.
This summer Stewart interned with Mark Steel in Salt Lake City.
Jones said she took welding classes in high school. She had two years of welding technology at a community college.
In 1999, she was awarded the outstanding pre-professional of the year from her department. In 2000, Jones was named the outstanding junior of the year. She had an internship this summer with ESAB Welding & Cutting in Florence, S.C.
“Welding is an acceptable career with growth potential for both genders. Jones is one of three women who received a scholarship from the AWS Foundation in 2001,” Pinsky said. “Welders are needed to fulfill the economic production related to the gross domestic profit.”
Both Jones and Stewart are positive about the engineering technology program.
“This program is different than other engineering programs,” Stewart said. “It’s more hands on. Students are supposed to be competent in different processes and industries.”
“If you’re interested in design, problem solving, troubleshooting, process optimization or if you want to learn to fabricate something correctly, this is a great department,” Jones said. “It is very process orientated. There is a lot of studying and you are in the shop a lot.”
Among other things, the shop houses a robot and a dive tank for underwater welding. It is there students learn advanced processes for their career.
“It is very well-equipped thanks to Miller Electric,” Jones said.
At the shop, Jones currently puts in her 16 semester hours as well as an additional six hours per week. She is working with Darin Nielson on a lightweight, high performance, chromoly snowmobile chassis.
“Snowmobiles are a popular pastime here,” she said.
“One great thing about the program is that everyone is so tight. It’s like a family. Everyone is there to help one another out and the instructors are very knowledgeable,” Jones said.
Stewart said, “We’re a small program … but because we come from a hands-on experience, we can make an immediate difference for a company. We know all the physics and chemistry, but our experience sets us apart.”
“There’s almost 100 percent placement upon graduation,” Jones said.
For more information about the welding engineering technology department, visit www.engineering.usu.edu/ite/
Undergrad/Welding/Index.html.