Recently I had the opportunity to attend the AWS New Mexico chapter meeting, which was held at the Central New Mexico Community College (CNM).
In addition to the hamburgers and hot dogs cooked up by the college’s student chapter of AWS, another big draw of the evening was the Blacksmithing demo by Robert Ulibarri (pictured, right) from CNM’s welding technology program. He also serves as the faculty advisor for the CNM Student chapter of the AWS and I’ll be doing a profile and tour of their welding program soon. On video.
I had big plans to video tape the demo, but alas my batteries failed. And I had neglected to bring extras. So instead of a demo of red hot glowing iron, Robert hammering out some horse shoes, sparks flying … all I got was 13 seconds of intro and this screen capture.
I met several of the AWS members, representing Los Alamos National Labs, Sandia National Labs and Matheson Gas to name a few.
I also learned about the scholarship opportunities that the American Welding Society offers— on many levels– from local district scholarships to international scholarships. It’s clear the AWS is committed to offering opportunities to students worldwide!
New this year is the opportunity to apply scholarship funds to two-year programs. NOTE: Applications are due March 1 for district scholarships. In addition to filling out the application, you’ll need to get together your transcripts, a financial aid statement, and write a Personal Statement outlining your educational and career objectives. Other AWS sponsored scholarships may have additional requirements such as letters of recommendations, so plan ahead!
Also new this year for the Albuquerque section is a scholarship funded by Matheson!
So if you’re interested in a career in welding, you may want to check out the opportunities offered through your own local American Welding Society Chapter, and maybe even score a scholarship.