Class of 1983 donates 40-year reunion proceeds to alma mater’s welding program...
The Waukon High School Class of 1983 held its 40-year reunion during the 2023 Homecoming celebration of its alma mater this past fall, and members of that class raised $500 for the Welding Program at Waukon High School. Pictured in the photo above, Class of 1983 members (left to right in center of photo) Rita (Ronan) Pfiffner and Gregg Jones presented the $500 donation check to Waukon High School Industrial Technology instructor Caleb Ferring, with Waukon High School Principal Jen Garin (far left) and welding students from Waukon High School also pictured in the photo. Ferring said the funding will likely be designated to pay entry fees and meet other financial obligations for his students entering the welding competitions available to them through the recently expanded welding program coordinated by Waukon High School with Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC).
Jones shared that he and other class representatives, Rita (Ronan) Pfiffner, Lisa (Schaller) Snitker and Steve Weighner, planned out the Class of 1983 reunion and really liked the idea that the trade skills the high school welding students are learning are being put to use to benefit the local community, from making tee markers and tee stands at the Waukon Golf & Country Club to making the trash receptacles for downtown Waukon, as well as making the lockers for the new Waukon Police Station. One of their Class of 1983 classmates, Mike Ferring, is the father of Caleb Ferring, the lead instructor for the welding program.
Caleb Ferring explained that, starting in the Fall of 2021, the Waukon High School welding program added an in-house workplace learning portion to its curriculum as an addition to the GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) Career Pathway certificate offered at the school in partnership with NICC for college credit. Students have worked with local businesses and industry to complete several projects while operating the class as its own welding business model, completing tasks for projects such as designing, estimating materials, pricing and fabrication. The welding class hit the ground running at that time with the new onsite work-based learning taking place in the fourth quarter of that school year. The class developed its company name, called “Next Gen Welds,” and has been working on projects with local businesses.
“There was plenty of work scheduled to keep all the students engaged, and it has provided the students with authentic learning opportunities to meet industry standards,” Ferring further explained. Submitted photo.
