Thomas Keyes
Welding Technology

There is very little that brings me the feeling of a job well done more than seeing one of my students leave their booths with a confident stride and a smile on their face, eager to show me the weld that they had just produced. For these moments, I choose to share my knowledge, my experience, my enthusiasm for the craft, to teach.

I have taught and trained welding to many on the job for quite a few years. In 2017, I came to LCC to do so in an academic environment. The institution’s requirements were stringent and required that I invest in the American Welding Society as a Certified Welding Inspector. This required me to commit to an online course, a one week seminar, and a six hour long examination. I passed the exam and received my certification. I educated myself to be the best candidate possible and was successful.

The first semester that I taught, I was paired with a highly respected colleague as a “shadow”. I thought this an excellent opportunity for me to learn how to teach in this environment. I learned the software used, safety procedures, equipment repair requests, practical and classroom testing. I am a highly accomplished craftsman and have many years of experience teaching “on the job”. This most certainly was not the same. I am grateful to have had the opportunity and learned an incredible amount in a relatively short period of time from an excellent instructor.

I have never worked in a place so devoted to diversity and inclusiveness as it is embraced and encouraged here at LCC. I will be challenged by the students and faculty here to be the best instructor that I can be. I am encouraged to obtain more certifications and utilize the resources available to me through the Center for Teaching Excellence. I received my AWS certification as an educator. I obtained my level II visual inspection certification from the American Society of Nondestructive Testing. I’ve taken advantage of courses to learn our instruction software and, presently, the course, “Transforming Learning Through Teaching”. I am incredibly engaged with learning here. I am dedicated to being an effective and successful teacher. The joy it brings me to see a student feel a sense of pride in their work is what makes me want to learn, to always be a student. There’s always more…