Moraine Park Technical College celebrates its 2023-24 Welding Boot Camp graduates. In total, 20 students earned their certification this year—nine were recognized at the spring completion ceremony on Thursday, May 30 at the Fond du Lac Campus Conference Center.
The boot camp programs aim to address the skilled worker shortage through short-term skill development training. These boot camps are free for participants and focus on teaching skills tailored to specific career pathways. Additionally, they connect students with local employers. The program features a 144-hour paid internship paired with coursework in areas such as Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem Solving, and other pathway-specific subjects.
“The journey through boot camp involves life change and risk—it is no cakewalk,” JoAnn Hall, dean of economic and workforce development at Moraine Park, said. “The program is built to challenge you and set you up for success. Today you join nearly 400 boot camp graduates who have gone on to careers with short-term credentials. You should be extremely proud of your accomplishment and know that this is only the beginning.”
The students who completed the fall 2023 Welding Boot Camp are Tristen Bair of Omro, Ben Bruene of Waupun, Malique Burns of Fond du Lac, Katherine Cook of Randolph, Patrick Gipson of Fond du Lac, Jared Kelnhofer of West Bend, Gavin Kolarik of Appleton, Rich Kunz of Fond du Lac, Brandon Pritchard of Waupun, Hayden Williams Cortes of Fond du Lac, and Alex Winkelman of Milwaukee.
The students who completed the spring 2024 Welding Boot Camp are Delvoyd Allen of Fond du Lac, Elijah Cords of Fond du Lac, Ian Drewicz of Fond du Lac, Alex Hernandez of Fond du Lac, Damion Huey of Fond du Lac, He’Vane Richards of Fond du Lac, Keygan Schneider of Fond du Lac, George Swett of Fond du Lac and Joseph VanKooy of Eldorado.
“Before starting the boot camp, I worked in construction, but I never saw it as a long-term career,” Elijah Cords, MPTC Welding Boot Camp graduate, said. “When my dad told me about this program, I liked the job security and knew how lucrative welding could be. Through hard work and a lot of re-work, our class persevered, and I am proud to say I will be starting full-time at Apache Stainless in June.”
Four boot camp graduates were recognized for their perfect attendance—Ian Drewicz, Gavin Kolarik, George Swett and Joseph VanKooy. Students are allowed only 24 hours of missed class time.
Participating internship sites for the 2023-24 academic year were American Exchanger Services, Apache Stainless Equipment, BCI Burke, Bradley Corporation, The Jor-Mac Company, Mid-States Aluminum and Wabash.
“I don’t know what you will do with your futures, but you will always know you accomplished this,” Kelly Komoroski, MPTC Welding instructor, said. “You may not be welders forever, but maybe this will light the candle to show you where you want to go.”
The program is 12 weeks, and upon completion, students will have a Moraine Park certificate and 14 college credits that can be used toward advanced educational aspirations. Moraine Park has had almost 400 participants in the Welding and CNC boot camp programs since its induction in 2012. The boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to financial support from community resource partners and the Workforce and Training (WAT) grants.
The next Welding Boot Camp is scheduled for the Fall of 2024. Interested individuals must participate in a free Boot Camp Test Drive Day on July 10.
