CWA Foundation celebrates welding educators at CanWeld breakfast

Exceptional Educator Award in the secondary school category went to R.B. Russell Vocational High School teacher Mike Jonathan, pictured here receiving his award from CWA Foundation Executive Director Deborah Mates.

The Canadian Welding Association Foundation held a breakfast on the second day of the CanWeld Expo & Conference on Sept, 14 to celebrate the achievements of the foundation and to honour welding educators from across the country. Two welding educators, one a secondary school teacher and one a college professor, were presented with awards during the breakfast, held at Montreal’s Hotel Bonaventure.

Deborah Mates, executive director of the foundation, began the proceedings by sharing some of the accomplishments of the foundation over the past year.

“Fifty-five [Mind Over Metal] camps have introduced more than 1,000 at-risk youth to hands-on welding careers,” said Mates. “Two hundred and sixty-three high schools have revitalized or new welding shops. Over 100 high school and 167 post-secondary students have received awards to support them with their post-secondary education. By the end of April, 51 train-the-trainer education sessions had taken place. Forty women in Nova Scotia have apprenticeships at Irving Shipbuilding.”

Mates also noted that industry and government support of the foundation reached $1.5 million last year, and the Foundation expects $2.5 million in support this year.

The foundation paid to bring 24 educators and 22 post-secondary students from across the country to CanWeld. This is the largest number they’ve been able to support thus far. This group participated in two industry tours while in Montreal, visiting ADF and Walter Surface Technologies.

The first award handed out in the morning was the Hugh A. Krentz Student Award. This national award was established in 2015 to honour the contributions of Krentz as a member of the CWB Group board of directors from 1979 to 2010, as well as his passion and leadership related to the development and use of construction standards and their resulting contribution to protecting the safety of the public. In addition to his service on the CWB Group board, Krentz also served as president of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction from 1978 to 2001 and as the chairman of the Standards Council of Canada from 2001 to 2011.

The award is given to a Canadian student enrolled in their final year of study in a two- or three-year welding engineering technology or engineering undergraduate program who shows exemplary academic excellence, a demonstrated passion for the welding industry, and a passion for standardization and public safety.

This year’s award was presented to Whitney Jardine, who is currently completing McMaster University’s Bachelor of Technology degree program and anticipates receiving a degree in manufacturing engineering technology.

The Exceptional High School Educator Award was presented to Mike Jonathan, a teacher at R.B. Russell Vocational High School in Winnipeg. Jonathan gave an impassioned speech about his students, many of whom struggle in and outside of school. He considers his school “a vocational beacon of hope for at-risk youth.” He has seen his students take advantage of the welding program to give back to friends and family. Jonathan noted that “given the opportunity to fabricate and weld a project to take home, students almost always choose to make a gift for a younger sibling, a bed frame, or a piece of furniture that is desperately needed.” His students, many of whom have struggled with math, have built projects as diverse as a fully functional backyard Zamboni and a 14-ft. ferris wheel complete with an electric motor and gearbox.

“I think I work extremely hard, trying to keep kids engaged by coming up with relevant, interesting projects that always reflect and meet welding curricular outcomes,” said Jonathan. “Most of all, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with students who have inspired me to work harder. I’ve often heard discouraged teachers say we shouldn’t have to work harder than our students. But if you’re not working harder than a 16-year-old kid, you’re in the wrong business. Being awarded Exceptional Educator of the year is by far the greatest and most humbling honour of my career.”

Students and educators enjoy a tour of Walter Surface Technologies during CanWeld. The CWA Foundation paid to bring 24 educators and 22 post-secondary students from across the country to CanWeld. This is the largest number they’ve been able to support thus far.

Cambrian College Welding and Fabrication professor Robbie Duncan was awarded Exceptional Educator Award in the post-secondary category. Duncan said he felt humbled when he was honoured on the national stage.

Perhaps more comfortable in the background, for the past 10 years Duncan has been coaching students to prepare them for provincial and national Skills competitions. Many students earned medals and national exposure. More have earned recognition on the job and built a sense of personal pride in their work. Duncan teaches students how to be exceptional in their trade and sets the bar high for himself as well. He models a “can-do” attitude and spends countless hours in the pursuit of excellence.

As for earning the Exceptional Educator award from the CWA Foundation, Duncan was initially in disbelief, but said “it’s starting to sink in.” Thinking about how he ended up on stage in Montreal, he explained that “I didn’t get there on my own. You can’t do it alone. Whenever I had an idea [at Cambrian] someone would find a way to make it happen so that we could make the program better, and make things better for students. It might take a little time, but we make things happen.”

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