College or Trade?
By: Erin Murray, KVEO
Updated: October 12, 2012
Not every student is all about the books.
In fact, many students would rather learn a trade.
"Well I like to work with my hands, I like to build stuff with my hands, and that motivated me to get into this class," said Roman Espinoza.
The class is a welding class at Palmview High School in La Joya, Texas.
Sparks fly as Espinoza works on building a welders bed.
It's a project he is taking to competition next March.
Espinoza, like many students, feels more at home in the school workshop, than he ever did in a classroom.
"Not everybody is equipped for college, not everybody has the mind set of going to college. And, if you look at the numbers, a lot of our kids don't make it through college or just don't go," said Arnoldo Solis, Agriculture Science Teacher. "So, my deal here is to try and get them prepared for a life without college, a good paying job without college, for them to leave from here with skills that will eventually get them a good paying job."
And some students really excel with these trades.
Solis said Espinoza has learned in one year what most of his students do in four years.
Espinoza wasn't always the model student.
Before he decided to put on the helmet and start welding, he actually spent a lot of his time getting into trouble.
"My parents weren't that glad about what I was doing, I would not go to my house, I would be not responsible at all, I would be acting up, I would be behaving bad, and I would never be in school," said Espinoza.
On the verge of living a life as a possible drop out, one class pulled Espinoza back to reality.
"Well last year I joined welding and it got me thinking, what am I going to do with my life after graduation? So I decided to weld and I decided I liked it, it has helped me out a lot," said Espinoza.
Out of trouble and in school, Espinoza is working toward his new goal and career.
"He has come such a long way, he comes into class and I use him as an example with the other kids. If you come in and you do what this student does, you are going to leave with a lot of skills," said Solis.
Espinoza is already been accepted into the Tulsa School of Welding in Oklahoma.
There he plans to become a welding inspector, a job that has a current salary of between $45,000 to $60,000 a year.
In fact, many students would rather learn a trade.
"Well I like to work with my hands, I like to build stuff with my hands, and that motivated me to get into this class," said Roman Espinoza.
The class is a welding class at Palmview High School in La Joya, Texas.
Sparks fly as Espinoza works on building a welders bed.
It's a project he is taking to competition next March.
Espinoza, like many students, feels more at home in the school workshop, than he ever did in a classroom.
"Not everybody is equipped for college, not everybody has the mind set of going to college. And, if you look at the numbers, a lot of our kids don't make it through college or just don't go," said Arnoldo Solis, Agriculture Science Teacher. "So, my deal here is to try and get them prepared for a life without college, a good paying job without college, for them to leave from here with skills that will eventually get them a good paying job."
And some students really excel with these trades.
Solis said Espinoza has learned in one year what most of his students do in four years.
Espinoza wasn't always the model student.
Before he decided to put on the helmet and start welding, he actually spent a lot of his time getting into trouble.
"My parents weren't that glad about what I was doing, I would not go to my house, I would be not responsible at all, I would be acting up, I would be behaving bad, and I would never be in school," said Espinoza.
On the verge of living a life as a possible drop out, one class pulled Espinoza back to reality.
"Well last year I joined welding and it got me thinking, what am I going to do with my life after graduation? So I decided to weld and I decided I liked it, it has helped me out a lot," said Espinoza.
Out of trouble and in school, Espinoza is working toward his new goal and career.
"He has come such a long way, he comes into class and I use him as an example with the other kids. If you come in and you do what this student does, you are going to leave with a lot of skills," said Solis.
Espinoza is already been accepted into the Tulsa School of Welding in Oklahoma.
There he plans to become a welding inspector, a job that has a current salary of between $45,000 to $60,000 a year.
