Sparks fly and grinders screech as the welding class students begin working on their projects. 

In the more advanced welding classes at Powell High School, students are encouraged to work on individual endeavors. By that time in their welding careers, students have a good understanding of processes, techniques and skills.  

“The goal is to encourage them now,” teacher Matt Carlson said. “Take those things that they’ve learned and be creative, be self-driven.”

Students have chosen a wide variety of individual projects, from coat racks to wood-burning stoves. 

“A big part of CTE shops, especially in industrial arts classes, is employability, work ethic, things like that,” Carlson said. “So our ultimate goal is, by the time they’re in Welding 4 or Project Fabrication classes, is that they are ready to put everything they have learned into practice, and come up with things they are interested in, things they want to do, things that are practical for them.”

For some of the students, that interest is automotive. Seniors William Atkinson and William Shelby have been applying their technical knowledge to create roll cages for their derby cars. 

The cages are created with rigid, steel tubes, and they prevent the cabin from collapsing during a rollover or crash. Some roll cages are pre-built, but even these need extra care. 

Shelby bought his cage. Halfway through, he realized that most of the dimensions wouldn’t work with his car. 

“I had to start drawing out how things were going to work,” Shelby said. “And then measuring and then figuring out everything by just writing it down.”

Atkinson likes to build his roll cages from scratch. 

“The first thing I normally do [when welding a roll cage] is build a halo,” Atkinson said. “So I measure how long my uprights need to be, and then my cross piece, and then I build bars that go across the driver door and passenger doors, and attach that to the dash bar.”

Both students said the welding program has influenced their career choices. Atkinson wants to become a welder, while Shelby wants to continue building roll cages as a profession. 

“[I’m] realizing that I've already got some experience,” Shelby said. “So I'm actually learning with additional stuff. I think it's just worked out pretty well.”

Building a roll cage requires more than just welding. It requires some creative thinking and problem solving. Each weld needs to meet safety standards and the cage needs to fit inside the car. 

“Welding in the shop has taught me more about working with my hands than actually being inside the classroom,” Shelby said. “We are able to work hands-on, so it teaches people to go and actually work in an environment, if you want to, where you can go build stuff with your hands.”