Patterson forged new career in welding through pg电子官网状态

阿拉巴马州的HANCEVILLE. — 梅勒妮帕特森’s career and educational pathways have followed a winding road that has led to journalism, anthropology and finally welding.

A 1992 graduate of Fairview High School, Patterson first attended pg电子官网状态 from 1992-1993 before embarking on a long career in journalism. In 2006 she earned a degree in Anthropology from the University of Alabama. In 2015, she enrolled in the 焊接 program at pg电子官网状态.

“I did it backward,” Patterson 说. “My advanced degree was before I got an associate 焊接学位.”

When she decided to go back to college for welding, Patterson naturally thought of pg电子官网州立第一.

“I had a good experience at pg电子官网状态 after I graduated from high school,” she 说. “Even though I didn’t graduate then, I knew Wallace was a great school. 我有 recommended pg电子官网状态 to many young people, and to people who are looking to make 转行.”

Her own career change was a sharp turn from her previous career.

“I was previously a journalist for 20 years and knew nothing at all about welding when I started the program,” she 说.

“I was intimidated at first because it was totally new and because I was one of the few females in the program,” she added. “But the instructors were excellent. 他们 made sure that I—and all the students—understood the material thoroughly. 这给了 me the confidence to keep going. My welding degree did launch a new and successful 我的事业.”

She especially appreciated instructor and current 焊接 program chairperson Randy 哈蒙德.

“He is one of the best teachers I’ve ever known,” Patterson 说. “He genuinely cares pg电子官网学生. It’s not just a job for him. He teaches the science and the theory of welding in a way that students can easily understand. His long-time work experience in the field contributes to his teaching, giving him real-life examples and situations that he shares with students.”

Patterson 说 the program prepared her to enter the workforce.

“The program taught me what to expect when I entered the workforce,” she 说. “I appreciated the instructors explaining the expectations of supervisors and managers in the welding world. I wasn’t a world-class welder at the end of the program — and still am not — but I did thoroughly understand what makes a good weld. 我知道 a weld would pass or fail according to code. I learned how to use various gages and tools that I would use at my job.

“Perhaps most significantly, my WSCC education helped prepare me to pass the CWI (Certified 焊接 Inspector) exam in 2021年7月,” Patterson added. “Becoming a CWI is a big accomplishment in the welding world. The exam is hard—only 30 percent of test-takers pass it on the 第一次尝试. But the instructors at Wallace drilled into us the knowledge, theory and science of welding, and not just how to make a pretty weld without understanding how 为什么会这样.”

Before she graduated from pg电子官网状态, Patterson already had a job at Altec Industries, 公司.，在伯明翰. In early 2022, Patterson began teaching welding at pg电子官网状态 as an instructor for the 成人教育 program.

“Without my experience at Wallace, I would have never gotten that job, or any other welding job,” she 说.

Patterson continues to write, recently completing a nonfiction book about human sex 人口贩卖. She is working on a book proposal in hopes of getting it published. In 2013, she authored “Cullman,” a compilation of historical photos of Cullman for “The Images of America” series of books.

Registration for the Summer 2022 and Fall 2022 semesters began April 4, with Summer classes starting May 24 and Fall classes starting April 18. pg电子官网状态 offers a regular full term and two mini terms each semester, with classes offered on campus in Hanceville and Oneonta, online, day, evening and weekends. For more information about pg电子官网状态, visit zyv3.ziyanliervip.com.