WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Welding students on the campus of Penn College in Williamsport are hard at work. High Steel Structures recently gave the welding program $100,000 worth of scrap metal.
"It is super nice having all this material available to us so we can get practice and just better ourselves in welding in general," said Kevin Scharba, a welding student.
"It is a lot of practice time," said welding professor James Colton. "So, they can constantly cut it and reuse it. We reuse right down till there is nothing left. We turn around and scrap what's left of it."
The scrap metal will be used for the college's welding and metal fabrication programs. Students have already begun to put the scrap to use.
"A lot of these donations we have got we used in our classes," added Scharba.
"So far, I have been able to use all this metal by making different joint configurations," said welding student Michael Shoemaker.
High Steel Structures has facilities in Williamsport and Lancaster. They are one of North America's leading fabricators of steel for bridge projects. Steel prices have risen drastically over the last few years. The college says this donation will go a long way.
"Everyone is experiencing some form of supply chain crisis. To be able to have an excess of materials allows students to practice, learn, and have that ability to gain greater skill," said Elizabeth Biddle, the school's director of corporate relations.
Students at Penn College say that this steel is their next step to entering the workforce.
"Being able to be here and getting in as much practice as possible, just welding every day because that is how you get better. At the end of the day, it is just time under the hood, welding, and figuring out how you like to weld," said Scharba.
This donation made by High Steel Structures is their largest donation to date.
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