This summer was an exciting one at our shop. With its inaugural year, the Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) started off without a hitch. We hosted 16 high school students from East Palo Alto from a program called Live in Peace who were interested in the building trades.
This 6-week program introduced young people to trade opportunities in Mechanical Construction. Over the course of the camp, our students got exposure to the Sheet Metal, Piping & Plumbing Trades. The kids learned how to braze piping to make a lamp, build their own toolboxes out of sheet metal, and form a device-holder out of copper. They also visited the Sheet Metal Training Center at the Bay Area Local 104 and the UA Training Center for Local 467.
This summer experience is exactly what our community needs to get the next generation of kids into the trades. A career in the trades offers lucrative pay, it gives great benefits, and you don’t necessarily need to go to college to get in the trades. It was great seeing the kids fully committed to the program. They came in each day, ready to work, ready to be safe, and ready to learn. This summer camp really sparked their interest in the Sheet Metal, Piping & Plumbing Trades.
We want to say a special thank you to all the volunteers at WAM who helped make this happen: Angie, Randy, Cyrus, Harvey, Mike A., LeeRoy, Susie, Kiley, Todd, Daniel K., Rob K., Anthony G., Tom J., Mike H., Ben S., Nick J., Connie R., Rob K., Keith G., Joe C., Andrew, Yindy, Vanessa, Suraj, Manny, Ben Rivera, Leon, Loek, Amanda, Zach, Kevin, Jim J., and Lisa O. Also, thank you so much to the sponsors DMG, Northern Ca MCA, Norman Wright, UA Local 467, SMACNA National, Milwaukee Tools, SMART Local 104, Bay Area SMACNA, Michael and Angie Simon and The Grow Organization.
