Victor Technologies Announces Winners of Student Cutting and Welding Contest
Six winners were recognized from its 2013 “A Cut Above” contest for students in welding and cutting programs at secondary and post-secondary schools.
Posted: May 1, 2014
Victor Technologies (St. Louis, MO) announced the six winners of its 2013 “A Cut Above” contest for students in welding and cutting programs at secondary and post-secondary schools.
The individual winners from 2013 are Terrance Biggers from Tennessee College of Applied Technologies, (Union City, TN; instructor James Daniels); Michael Bramblett from George Stone Technical Center, (Pensacola, FL; instructor James Mathews) and Jonathan Lawler from Bellingham Technical College, (Bellingham, WA; instructor Sarah Patterson).
The themes of the winning essays were, respectively, Terrance’s discovery of the limitless options for fabricating works of art using cutting and welding, the life-changing influence of welding on Michael’s future and Jonathan’s evolving passion to combine welding with a strong sense of community.
Two of the team winners hail from Highland High School (Gilbert, AZ). Team students Matthew Focht, Jack Daniel and Brett Eschliman, guided by instructor Curtis Willems, recreated a Victor torch on a 6:1 scale, while students Ryland Barney, Cody Gifford and Garrett Shafer, also instructed by Willems, built a “Victor Man” sculpture. From Assabet Valley Technical High School (Marlborough, MA), students John Dantonio and Lauren Quinn, with direction from instructor Chris Wittmier, built the “Star Wars Venator Cruiser.” Both teams incorporated an oxyfuel, air-fuel or plasma cutting process in their team metal fabrication project.
Individual winners won a $250 cash prize for their winning essay on the theme of “A Cut Above,” describing how cutting has influenced their lives. Members of the winning team each won a $500 cash prize for submitting a cutting project. All schools associated with the winners also won a cutting, welding and gas control package valued at $4,000. Products in the package included a Victor® Journeyman Welding & Cutting Outfit, a Victor® Thermal Dynamics® CUTMASTERä 42 Air Plasma Cutting Outfit, a Fabricator® 211i 3-in-1 Stick-MIG-TIG Welding Machine Kit and two Tweco® 4-sensor auto-darkening welding helmets.
“The winning students and schools demonstrate the spirit and passion embodied by men and women who are a cut above the rest. Cutting and welding has motivated these participants to reach new levels of creativity and realize greater opportunity,” said Martin Quinn, the chief executive officer of Victor Technologies. “The contest, along with our regular 35% discount to educational institutions, demonstrates our commitment to giving students and schools the inspiration and tools they need to grow and succeed.”
Student Terrance Biggers may have summed it up best in his winning essay, “There are so many things you can make with a little imagination and the right tools… Whatever your dream, if you work hard and take the time to learn, anything is possible.”
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