Sparking Potential: How CTE Empowered Me as a Welder, Teacher, and Author

Hello, my name is Larry Jeffus, and I’m a welder. I have been a welder my entire life. To celebrate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, I’d like to share a little bit about how my technical education has changed my life. Because of my learning differences, I struggled in school, including when I failed an English class multiple times before I passed it. But my persistence helped me achieve more than I ever thought I could.

As a welding teacher, it’s been an incredible experience helping students see their full potential, even when there can sometimes be people who look down on those of us who work in technical trades.

When I meet professionals I…well…let me give you an example of what that’s like. At a welcoming picnic for new employees, a colleague’s wife whose husband had a PhD asked me what I taught. When I said I taught welding, she said, “Ohhh. What’s required to be a welding teacher?” I replied just 5-years working as a welder. I got another, “Ohhhh.” I told her I have a 2-year college degree. She said, “You mean like students get at the community college?” “Yes.” Then I got another, “Ohhhh.” “That was before I went to the University of Tennessee and got a bachelor’s degree, I returned a year later to work on my master’s degree; now I’m at Texas A&M Commerce working on my PhD. I need two more courses.” I got an “OHHH” this time and a smile and a complete change in body language. I stood up without saying a word and walked away.

What she did not understand is that I make more money welding in the summer than her PhD husband makes teaching all year at the college. I’ve always made good money as a welder. In college just working part time at Monroe County Welding Shop I paid for all of my college expenses, and bought a Triumph TR3 sports car, a Cessna 182 aircraft, a motorcycle, and more. 

Students must be encouraged to explore Career and Technical Education, especially those who haven’t found their “thing” in other courses. Students need to see that there is a world of possibility out there for them despite their learning differences or other struggles in the classroom. CTE programs helps students find their place in school and in the broader community.

I still weld; I was doing some welding over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Thanks to CTE, I’ve had a life filled with time spent doing what I love and proving to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.