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Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School
Metal Fabrication Student News
February, 2014 - "Who says girls can’t weld bulldozers!"
For many of us, during this time of year in New England our minds and hearts are thinking about the New England Patriots football team making it to the Super Bowl. However, Alexandra Alcock, who is a senior in the metal fabrication / welding program at Assabet Valley Technical High School in Marlborough, Massachusetts, is thinking about how to finish her welding task at hand which is rebuilding an oversize heavy duty execrator bucket. The photo of Alexandra standing next to her welded bucket says it all.
Like so many female welders today in our country, such as Alexzandra, they too are doing most outstanding work and following the footsteps of long ago but not forgotten “Rosy the Riveters”. They were truly an integral female work force that help win the war during WW II (1941 - 1945). They were the much needed welders, the pipe fitters, the riveters, the sheet metal workers, the machinists, and truly the back bone of building ships, submarines, tanks, aircraft, and armaments for the allied forces to fight in the South Pacific and Europe.
Alexandra’s Co-op journey began back in her junior year at Assabet Valley School. You see, Massachusetts vocational students are required to spend 30 hours a week in their technical programs as well as required to maintain a balance of honorable academic grades, acceptable attendance records, and outstanding shop grades which in turn makes them eligible for a Co-Op placement job in metal fabrication / welding program they are making $ 12 - 16 per hour as a high school student. Alexandra was able to achieve all three requirements and land herself a welding repair job at a local sand and gravel company, in both her junior and senior years. Not to our surprise, Alexandra was able to put herself at the head of her shop class, while producing honorable grades in her academic classes, along with perfect school attendance.
This is type young woman who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. When not welding on a piece of heavy equipment, she enjoys driving her vintage pick-up truck (that she helped rebuild with her dad, welding included), driving her off road ATV’s, and as her shop teacher Mr. Mansfield jokingly says, she also enjoys climbing trees when not welding. Alexandra is truly a well-balanced young women, she knows how to put in long work hours. While relaxing Alexandra style in her free time. Alexandra’s plans upon graduation are to weld full time and rebuild, and modify heavy equipment at Kimbils Sand and Gravel Corp. Also, Alexandra has plans to establish a small business and do creative metal work on the side when not welding. She is in the process of setting up a small metal shop and has acquired a welding machine, cutting and heating torches, hand held plasma machine, and is building benches and tools rests for her welding art work shop. You see, Alexandra has a talent in creative copper work such as 'repousse', a French word for embossing designs in soft copper. She has expressed that she wants welding as a career, while pursuing her creative talents for her customers on the side.
As a vocational welding teacher, it is so very pleasing to see young adults enjoying welding as a career, while using their welder’s torches to produce create decorative designs in metal. After all, as Mike Rowe Dirty Jobs has said before “it’s about having a talent, and a desire to use their talents to drive their lives forward”. Well, I would like to say, Alexandra is doing just that, she found her talents in welding while having fun along the pathways of life. "You go girl" as the old saying goes. I salute all of the next generation of “ Rosy the Riveters” welders in our country today.

Happy weld puddles!

Written by:

Neil Mansfield
Hobart graduate,
CWI/ CWE
US Navy Steel Worker Chief,
Structural Iron Worker,
Sheet metal Worker,
Blacksmith

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Gallery pages 1-3 & 5-9 Photography & Website by D.M. Photographics. Marlborough, MA © 2007-2013.
All other photos and text by Neil Mansfield, © 2006 - 2013. All may not be reproduced without permission.