Blake Godwin, Italy High School’s Ag Teacher, is a mover and a shaker at the high school. The dual credit Welding Class, under Godwin’s guiding hand, has built trailers for local towns people and IHS’ own maintenance department. This is Mr. Godwin’s first year of teaching and he plans to have the Welding Class be even better next year.

Thirteen students, 9 are seniors, gather in the metal shop behind the classrooms and build trailers or anything requiring welding everyday. They have received a few orders to plan, design and build trailers and they ultimately fulfill those orders. Just 2 weeks ago, Owens Fire & Security ordered a utility trailer and today the trailer lacks only a few things to be complete.

Godwin explained that this class is Welding I (junior). Next year, Welding II (seniors) is being added and for Welding III, a student would attend Navarro for the NCCER* certification. That class would be two semesters. “This class just gives the students a leg up for the future.” Yonathan Davilla, senior, said, “I am going to TSTC when I graduate IHS and I will study welding. This class makes it a little easier.”

Next school year, Godwin said the class will begin to build a gooseneck trailer on the second day of class. Also, repair the pig trailer and some other things around the shop. All needs to be complete by December 1 to help with the spring expo. “The students will be learning more about angles and using geometry,” Mr. Godwin explained.

Principal Joffre said, “Many of our students do not plan to attend a traditional college. The Dual Credit Welding class is a great opportunity for students to start a career path while in high school. Mr. Godwin has done a great job getting the program started. We look forward to the continued growth of the program.”

The students involved in construction and welding are:
Zane Byers-Jr
Taylor Turner-Jr
Kevin Roldan-Jr
Cody Medrano-Jr
Alyssa Richards-Sr
Logan Owen-Sr
John Hughes-Sr
Zach Boyken-Sr
Yonathan Davilla-Sr
Chase Hamilton-Sr
Brandon Jacinto-Sr
Javier Enriquez-Sr
Caden Jacinto-Sr

*NCCER is a not-for-profit education foundation created to develop standardized construction and maintenance curricula and assessments with portable, industry-recognized credentials. These credentials include transcripts, certificates and wallet cards that are tracked through NCCER’s National Registry. NCCER develops training in over 60 craft areas, offers over 70 assessment exams and has over 4,000 training locations. (Taken from NCCER.org)