The Lake Land College Laker Connect Dual Credit program hosted its first-ever High School Welding Competition, giving 55 local high school students a chance to showcase their skills and earn exciting prizes.
Among the junior contestants, Michael Althoff, Teutopolis High School, placed third.
All students who were recognized received valuable prizes donated by industry partners, including professional welding equipment to support their future welding ambitions.
“We at Lake Land College thank all the students and teachers for joining us for this inaugural event. We were thrilled to see so much excitement among the students competing, and we look forward to seeing the event grow moving forward,” said Director of Dual Credit Tessa Wiles. “We also want to give a special thank you to all the industry partners who generously sponsored this competition and donated their time as well as awesome prizes to make this event possible.”
The following high schools participated in the Welding Competition: Charleston, Cowden-Herrick, Cumberland, Effingham, Mattoon, Neoga, Paris, Ramsey, Shelbyville, South Vermillion, Stewardson-Strasburg, Sullivan and Teutopolis.
The Laker Connect Dual Credit High School Welding Competition was made possible by the following industry partners, who served as professional judges, event sponsors and donated prizes for the event: Boilermakers, Bruder Tank, Evapco, Irwin Seating, McFarland Steel, New York Blower, Safety Storage and Weldstar.