CONESTOGA COLLEGE
Welding gala recognizes exceptional students in Conestoga's welding programs

Conestoga's 2024 Welding Gala honoured outstanding students in the college's welding programs. The annual event hosted by the Conestoga student chapter of the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) Association was held this year on April 10 at the Kitchener - Doon campus.

The ticketed event included dinner, keynote speaker, third-year final project presentations, award presentations, and opportunities to connect with industry partners, faculty and students.

The high calibre of student award recipients and strong commitment to Conestoga's welding trades and technology programs by industry sponsors and supporters impressed Jim Galloway, professor and welding programs coordinator.

"We relish every opportunity to demonstrate to the community at large the fantastic breadth of skills, knowledge and technology involved in the welding and fabrication field. We have students who are both competing at the national level of skills and also leading the nation in fields such as non-destructive testing and robotic welding and metal-additive manufacturing," Galloway said.

He added that welding technology is critical to the economic success of Canada's manufacturing industries and infrastructure projects.

Congratulations to this year's winners:

Alliance Fabricating Ltd. Summit Award - Sydney Seegmiller

Bessey Tools North America Award - Lyle Greydanus

Cody Dibble Memorial Award In Welding - Bennett Hindley and Radu Popovici

Automation In Welding Excellence Award - Jackson Macor

Welding Excellence Award - Erica Lemelin

Linde Canada Inc. Awards - Nahom Fisahaye, Ethan McRoberts and Serena Nicolai

Magna Scholars - Jonah Hobbs and Max Goehrum

Mariani Metal Fabricators Ltd. Welding & Metal Fabrication Awards - Sydney Vickers, Gerald Burnett and Jacob Pynn

Metrican Manufacturing Co. Inc. Advanced Welding Skills & Technology Award - Jonah Hobbs

Organization Of Canadian Nuclear Industries Awards - Justin Nesbitt and Serena Nicolai

Rolmaster Conveyors - Toby Houston Walters Group Inc. Awards - Marcell Tamio, Ephrem Haile and Jacob Devaux

CWB-A Kitchener Chapter, Andy McCartney Awards - Max Goehrum and Jackson Macor

Alex Arrowside Award - Gang Chen

CWB-A Conestoga College Student Chapter Graham McKinley Award - Landon Hyatt and Caitlyn Raymond

Metal Fabrication Awards - Jacob Pynn and Lyle Greydanus.

Macor was one of several students recognized with more than one award.

"Receiving these awards is truly an honour, and I'm grateful for the recognition of my hard work. However, I must attribute my success to the invaluable mentorship and guidance provided by the dedicated Welding Technology staff over the past three years."

Keynote speaker and Conestoga graduate Lucia Spacek talked about her work as a welding inspector in the nuclear industry, emphasizing to students job opportunities in the field as new reactors are built and old ones are refurbished.

Two third-year final projects were presented. One student pair tested out different ways to restart a weld after a stop - a common situation in welding - to discover which method could reduce failures in these areas of high stress.

The other investigated techniques to introduce defects to pipe welds that were then tested to see which are successful and can be detected using different non-destructive methods including ultrasonic testing.

Conestoga has the most comprehensive program offering in the high-demand field of welding, metal fabrication and welding engineering technology in Ontario. The college offers a guide to assist potential students in understanding the key differences between programs.

Primary programs include: Welding Engineering Technology - Inspection, Manufacturing Engineering Technology Welding and Robotics, Welding Techniques, Welding and Fabrication Technician, Welder (Apprenticeship) and Metal Fabricator (Apprenticeship).