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 The competition featured 85 participants from 16 area high
schools and career centers, including Hartsburg-Emden High School,
Hartsburg; Pekin High School, of Pekin; Monticello High School, of
Monticello; Champaign-Central High School, of Champaign; Livingston
Area Career Center, of Pontiac; Bloomington Normal-West High School,
of Bloomington; and Knoxville High School, of Knoxville.
Students were tested on a wide range of welding skills and theories,
including live welding challenges as well as classroom-based
testing. Ten students in two separate categories, or “flights,” were
recognized for their work with the first place winners receiving
cash prizes of $500 – second and third place winners received $250
and $100, respectively, and the top ten finalists were awarded
commemorative medals for their efforts.
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Flight A Top Ten |
The first place honors in Flight A went to Kendall Gorden of
Livingston Area Career Center (LACC), and Quintin Whitehouse, of
Cuba High School, took the top honors in Flight B. Second and third
place winners in Flight A were awarded to Trenton Barker, of
Knoxville High School, and Ryan Shoemaker, also of LACC, while
Stuart Chestney and Jordan Campbell, both of Normal-West High
School, placed second and third respectively in Flight B.
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Flight B Top
Ten |
Finishing in the top ten in the Flight B was Kolton Johner from
Hartsburg-Emden High School. Established in 2007, the competition
offers high school students more than an opportunity to showcase
their welding talents. Participants also had the chance to tour the
East Peoria campus, meet with faculty and staff and receive valuable
information on how to turn their passion into a lifelong, lucrative
career.
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MTI’s Director of High School Development Eric Gleason believes the competition
provides students with a well-rounded look at the skills and work ethic required
to be a professional welder.
“The weld competition is designed to allow area high school students to not only
showcase their skillset, but also to get a feel for the MTI environment and
experience welding at the next level.”
The East Peoria campus offers MTI’s Journeyman Welder I and II Program to train
students for employment as professional welders in as little as seven months.
For more information on the welding competition, contact the East Peoria campus
at (309) 427-2750. For interview requests and other media inquiries, contact
MTI’s Director of Marketing at Stacey Wierman at (309) 427-2750, ext. 1228.
[Stacey Wierman, Midwest Technical
Institute] About Midwest
Technical Institute
Midwest Technical Institute offers hands-on training in a number of
mechanical trade and allied health career fields to help students
succeed as a member of today’s rapidly-changing workforce. MTI,
along with its sister school, Delta Technical College, operates
seven campuses across the Midwest and Mississippi Delta regions. For
more information, visit www.midwesttech.edu.
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