Education

Teaching the Next Generation Of Welders

The AWS Detroit Section is dedicated to support welding programs to young people in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Learn more about our vocational school involvement with the Golightly Career and Technical Center.

VoTech Project at Golightly Career and Technical Center

We have been involved with Golightly Career and Technical Center, at 900 Dickerson Avenue in Detroit, for three years, setting up and maintaining the very first student chapter located within the actual city limits. The chapter has helped many young people find their way into a career in the welding field, and we are very proud of this historic achievement. We will continue to work on prepping the students for the Skills USA competition and the AWS High School Welding Competition.

Golightly CTC and Davis Aerospace Vocational High School

Golightly is unique as it houses three separate schools: Golightly Career Training Center, Davis Aerospace Training Center and Golightly, which is also now a full time High School. All three schools are overseen by one superintendent, Neal Morrison, who was previously employed by the Oakland County School district. Neal has done a great job in keeping the trades in the DPS system and has worked hard on setting up machine shops at Golightly and Randolph High Schools. AWS has been working with Golightly to ensure that the CTC Programs now there stay there and give whatever assistance is needed. AWS has been working with Golightly for just over five years now and has helped in many ways to keep the welding program at the level that it has been for years. Jeffrey Samuels the current instructor has picked up were Mr. Juan Whiting left off; the welding program at Golightly is the premier welding program in the Detroit School District. They have had students compete in the Skills USA competitions and in the AWS HSWC. Last year Golightly had a student finish in the top 10. Juan Whiting although retired still assists Mr. Samuels at Golightly with the welding program and has continued to be a great help at the school and a mentor to many a student. AWS has and will continue to help in any way we can, from supplying gas and metal to the welding lab, helping with PPE, participating in the career day events and having special speakers stop by and talk with the students and share their expertise. We have assisted them in extending their education and finding AWS scholarships, and we have attended career nights and parent’s nights to talk about the many great opportunities in the welding industry.

Thank you from Jeff Hill:

I Have chaired Golightly Weld Advisory Committee five years straight. We have set up and maintained an AWS Student Chapter at Golightly for past five years also. I hope to continue to work with Golighlty as I have made friends there. Neal Morrison, Jeffrey Samuels, and Juan Whiting all deserve a special thank you for being as committed as they are to our young adults and helping ensure a positive future. I would also like to thank Patricia Bell and Michelle Davis (also Golightly staff) for assisting in getting internship and CO-OPS for the students and working with the Weld Advisory Committee to help make these programs a success. From our AWS committee a special thanks to Tom Sparschu who got this all started, Ray Roberts who has been a part of this since the start, and Andre Young as he also has been a great help and has set up field trips to Kuka robotics for Golighlty. In closing I would like to thank the Detroit section for allowing me to continue to work with Golightly, and if any of my fellow committee members would like to get more involved let me know as we can use all the help we can get. Also just one more thing if anyone who reads this wants to contact myself or the District for assistance with welding programs currently in place or are thinking of starting one within our district please feel free to contact AWS as this is what it is all about, helping our young adults prepare for a better future and give them a skill that will last a lifetime.

Colleges, Universities specializing in Weld Technologies