Students at South Tech don’t just get hands-on experience in their desired career; some also get recognition for their accomplishments.

On Jan. 25, Sam Buckel (12) and Deshawn Hoffmann (12) traveled to the Missouri Welding Institute in Nevada, Missouri for the 9th annual welding competition. Both received a $1,000 scholarship, Buckel placing fifth and Hoffmann placing eighth. The students had 90 minutes to complete specific type of welds.

“My teacher was really proud of me,” Buckel said. “Our training is just unmatched.”

Welding students at South Tech were not the only ones to receive recognition. Alyssa Spalding (12) was nominated the Sunset Hills Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month in December.

“I have a lot of law enforcement in my family,” Spalding said. “My dad is a firefighter, his best friend is a police officer, and I have a lot of military in my family so I just felt like it was the path to go down.”

Spalding is a part of the law enforcement program at South Tech. She plans on majoring in psychology and continuing her path in the law.

“I want to be a forensics psychologist which does tie into law enforcement,” she said. “It makes me excited just thinking about it.”