Kenyon Clark, a Riverton High School junior, attends classes at the Baxter Springs welding site offered by Coffeyville Community College, Columbus Tech Campus. Kenyon is the first student attending the new program to earn a 6G pipe welding certification. Students from the program are tested by an AWS certified welding inspector. Students’ welds must meet the acceptance criteria of Section IX of the Boiler Pressure Vessel Code in order to certify. 

High school juniors and seniors from Baxter Springs, Galena, and Riverton High Schools attend the welding program in Baxter Springs, overseen by the Columbus Technical Campus of Coffeyville Community College. Students have the opportunity to enroll in dual credit classes, earning both high school and college credit. Tuition is free to high schools students through Senate Bill 155. Students receive training in four different welding processes: (SMAW) Shield Metal Arc Welding, (GMAW) Gas Metal Arc Welding, (FCAW) Flux Cored Arc Welding and (GTAW) Gas Tungsten Arc Welding. Students also earn their OSHA 10 outreach training card.

Kenyon traveled to the CCC Columbus Technical Campus welding facility to take his first of four welding bend tests, successfully passing his SMAW Certification on December 2. Todd Madl, Columbus Technical Campus Welding Instructor, and Certified Welding Inspector, administered the testing and verified the bend test.

Madl states, “At CCC, students are taught to weld in industry. Meeting the criteria of the AWS structural welding codes and the ASME power and process pipe welding codes is what these kids must learn to do to pass our classes. I think our programs are a great opportunity for area students to take advantage of!“

Gale Hess, Baxter site welding instructor says, “It was exciting and rewarding as an instructor to see Kenyon progress to the point to where his skill level advanced to where he could pass the pipe certification.”

Kenyon states, “The test was hard. You can’t go in unprepared. You can’t slack off at all and you have to concentrate. You can’t mess around.” This is Kenyon’s first time to weld on pipe. He will continue his training to earn the three additional welding certifications upon graduation from high school.