Mother-Daughter welding workshop a hit

Mothers and their daughters enjoyed learning how to weld at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
Posted on 03/14/2022
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A mother and daughter work on a weld at St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Sparks were flying at the Multiskills Centre at St. Thomas Aquinas High School last week as mothers and their daughters descended on the building. But unlike the expression, these were actual sparks.

“We learned how to weld and we made pencil holders” said Grade 9 student Aurora Smith. “I didn’t think I would be that good, but I was pretty good at it!”

Smith was there with her mother Jody Grant who said she really enjoyed the workshop.

“I wanted a chance to work with my daughter to try to learn more about welding and get more experience with women in the trades and show her what options are out there,” she said. “It was a big learning experience for both of us. Our end-product was not as cute as it could be, but it’s staying together.”

Eighteen women took part in the workshop which was run by Red Seal Welder and College Instructor Natasha Gunderson. The workshop was offered on three separate evenings at the Multiskills Centre. Gunderson taught the three groups the basics of welding and helped them stick weld together a pencil holder.

“We saw it advertised and thought it would be a good experience and it was great! I’ve never done it before,” said mother Tricia Spencer.  

Daughter Neveah also enjoyed the workshop.

“It was really fun, I really enjoyed it and it was good to learn something new. I thought it wouldn’t like it, but I thought I’d like it a lot. It’s a little scary at first and then it gets fun,” she said.

The women were taught how to stick weld together three pieces of tube steel. Stick welding is a form of welding that uses electricity to melt a metal filler stick. The heat melts both the metal joint and electrode all at once to fuse together two pieces of metal and fill the joint with filler metal at the same time. Organizer Kelly Sundmark explains why they decided to host the workshop.

“I believe it is important to have an opportunity to try something that most women would never try,” said Sundmark. “It is important to have a mentor such as Natasha to share her experiences and expertise with young women. It is also nice to see the young women experience success when they try something new for the first time.”

Sundmark added that there are lots of opportunities for students to try out the skilled trades at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Students participate in events through Skills Ontario that promote trades, while every May, Edge Factor hosts virtual events for students. Even students from St. John School get in on the action, traveling down to Kenora in November for a Trades and Tech Exploration Day. 

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