Heidi Williams

Senior Ash Foster poses next to her project she built for to attend the San Antonio Ag Mech show. Her purple planter built for her mom earned herself a blue ribbon. “I think it was really fun to learn how to paint,” Foster said. “We used spray paint primer and then two coats of paint and I thought that was really fun. We had to clean the entire thing. We had to wire wheel it and there was still splatter after and I spent like 3 hours cleaning. I had to put a hazmat suit on with a respirator. I absolutely loved it. I feel like I’m in Monsters Inc right now. All the projects were all black and the only way you could see mine was because it was purple.”

The sounds of sparks flying and metal hitting the floors is a daily occurrence in the welding classroom. Students scamper around, asking for help or even showing off their projects as they prepare for the show season. With a variety of projects being built all around the room, everyone is hoping their own will win a ribbon they can come home with.

The San Antonio Ag Mech show went from Feb. 23-25. Senior Ash Foster, Claire Vermillion, Mason Kasel and junior Grayson Radtke attended the show alongside welding teacher Myles Russell. Foster, Kasel and Radtke earned blue ribbons for their projects. 

“I did not bring a project because I didn’t finish [my project] in time to go,” Vermillion said. “I went for fun and I went to support Ash, Grayson and Mason as they were showing their projects. I also went to see what other people brought to the show, just to see the level of skill. Right now, I’m working on building a truck pull-out camp kitchen.”

Foster built a planter that contained a hanging compartment, drain system, and a shelf. Before building, Foster planned her design on CAD in the program Fusion360 as well as on paper. Using 2x2x8 angle iron, she made a frame. After making small boxes, welding it up, and painting it, the planter was finished. 

“Personally, the paper was easier as far as visualizing it and figuring out what I needed to do, but the CAD was necessary for the judges,” Foster said. “That’s what they’re judging, they’re looking at your plans.”

The planter was made for Foster’s mom, as she has recently gotten into gardening. The soil in their backyard wasn’t good for gardening, so Foster came up with an alternative.

“[The planter] was a surprise, I didn’t show her any pictures until it was completely done and at the show,” Foster said. “She was really happy, because she walked in and saw it for the first time and she’s really excited about it. She’s really excited for me to finally bring it home [since] we have a few more shows we have to go to.”

When judging, different judges judge different things and inspect the equipment. The judging includes checking welds, measuring, checking the book, and quizzing the participant. 

“I was so nervous,” Foster said. “The night before I was really nervous because I have never done this before, didn’t know what to expect. Once the judges start talking to you, they kind of are your friends. They’re just old nice people and you just have a conversation with them and overall the process really helped me to not be as nervous with stuff and just go for it.”

When not talking to the judges, the show consisted of lots of waiting around. During free time, participants would either head to the rodeo, go on rollercoasters, or visit the expo center. There were different trade schools, colleges, jobs and one could walk around and learn about these different places and jobs. 

“My favorite part was probably the expo area where you could talk to a bunch of professionals about how they are using the skills we’re learning in class for their everyday job,” Vermillion said. “It was really cool to see how many people showed up to support the kids in FFA and it was a really cool time to connect with people who are doing this for their professional career.”

Though Vermillion didn’t bring a project, she was able to experience the show as if she brought one. She was able to see different levels of variety. In total, there are 15 divisions that students can enroll themselves in, spanning from Livestock and Farm Equipment, trailers, wildlife, and Home Recreation and Conveniences.  

“Some kids would bring $50,000 projects to the show and some people would bring projects that only took a couple hundred dollars,” Vermillion said. “It was cool to see that no matter what kids have access to, they can still produce [entries] and participate in shows.”

After graduating, Foster plans to attend Texas A&M at Corpus Christi and study marine biology. Though she isn’t continuing a career in welding, she wants to keep it as a side hobby

“[Welding] is a great skill that you need for your life because you can literally build every project you want now,” Foster said. “It taught me patience for sure and how long it takes to make things and why things are so expensive because of how much effort and planning goes into them. Also it scared me. I think it’s important to try things that scare you.”