Welding Student Begins Career in High School

Garrett Berns, a senior at Mountain View High School, has already started his career and he hasn't even graduated yet!

Garrett, a second year welding student is employed part time at Quality Vans in Tempe working 25 hours a week while attending EVIT and his home high school. He was recommended to apply for the position by Mr. Leon Zamora, his instructor. According to Jim Nossett, Production Supervisor at Quality Vans, "Garrett was considered and hired after I was disappointed with the quality of the many applicants I had considered." They are so pleased with his work that they hope to hire Garrett full time after graduation.

In addition to his great work at Quality Vans, Garrett has been selected to receive an outstanding student award from Mesa Public Schools to be honored later next month. Way to go Garrett!!

Welding his way to a bright future

Junior Zachary Murrell is taking his welding class by storm. He doesn’t wait to be assigned a project or told how to do something. He just jumps right in and does it.

“From the first day that we hit the shop, he’s been asking questions,” welding instructor Leon Zamora said. “He’s the first on the floor and the last one cleaning up."

Zachary is like a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge his teachers and the other students can give him. And he’s succeeding in spite of an obstacle many don’t have: a hearing disability.

Typically, hearing is important to being a good welder, Mr. Zamora said. But Zachary has shown him that although it’s important, it’s not essential; Zachary has an amazing control over his welds and uses his other senses to pick up the slack.

“The sky is the limit for him as he continues to adapt and keep learning,” Mr. Zamora said.

For Zachary, who also attends Gilbert High School, the experience is about learning a skill that will land him a good job.

“But it’s not only about the money,” he said. “It’s also what I enjoy doing."

Welding students hit the ground running...

Several EVIT welding students recently were placed in jobs. Congrats to the following students:

Kaden Bottoms - Alumi-Cover
Austin Gneck - Phoenix Turbine
Matt Kelley - Square-G
Adam Nelson - Ampi
Tyler O'Neill - O-Mechanical
Scott Hudson - Di-Matrix
Paul Ruiz - Di-Matrix
William Crane - Di-Matrix
Demetri Davis - Phoenix Turbine
Tray Riddle - Phoenix Turbine
Sean Kalwa - Amber Steel
Jonathan Castro - Amber Steel

Good luck in your new positions!

EVIT welders donate lamp to Tempe Diablos

A welding student and teacher spent three weeks working on something rather amazing. Check it out:


It's even more impressive in person. They're donating the lamp to the Tempe Diablos, which is holding their annual Casino Night fundraiser on April 17. This item will be sold during the event's silent auction. The lamp will be sold to raise money for the Diablos, an organization that donates time and money to various community-based youth projects in Tempe.

The group often gives scholarship money to Tempe students who attend EVIT. They are so generous with our students that when they asked for help with their fundraiser, welding teacher Pete Acosta and student Demetri Davis were happy to step up to the plate.


What made this project so successful was Demetri's knowledge of guitars. He's a guitar player and likes to fix them up as a hobby, so getting the details on the lamp just right was a cinch for him.

"It just takes time," Demetri said. "You've got to do the best you can to make it look as real as possible."

Mr. Acosta choose Demetri to help on the project not only because of his love of guitars but also because of his meticulous attention to detail.

Great job! Now if only I could figure out how to convince them to make one for my office...

Welding students try out donated "boom"

Welding students got to try out a new piece of equipment today that will give them much more freedom of motion.

The machine, called a welding boom, was donated by Weldcoa and is valued at $2,900. Weldcoa has been manufacturing the booms since 1987, and they are used all over the world.

The boom will allow EVIT welding students to extend the reach of their equipment and operate freely within a 360-degree area.


"In other words, if the welder is working in an elevated area, he does not have to climb down to reposition and secure the boom arm," said Hector Villarreal, Weldcoa president. "The arm moves with the welder, providing him with complete freedom of movement. It also puts the welding machine controls right at the end of the boom arm, allowing the welder to make setting adjustments on the fly. Lastly, the boom removes all trip hazards, as all the cabling and hoses run through the length of the arm."

Students were excited to try out their new equipment. Thank you for the donation, Weldcoa!

EVITEF Breakfast Fundraiser recap

The EVIT Education Foundation breakfast this morning was a great success! Here are some highlights:

The culinary students were up and at it by 5 a.m. this morning, getting everything ready:

We had some wonderful guests and good conversation. Meet my tablemates, a group of fine folks from SRP:

Of course, the food was amazing:

Current and former students got up to say a few words about what EVIT has meant for their futures:

Local chef extraordinaire Mark Tarbell was honored as EVITEF's Sam and Olga Bender Award winner for his support of career and technical education:

Attendees were given a chance to bid on the centerpieces, which were hand-crafted by our welding instructors and students. I've had my eye on this one for several weeks... and I won it!

And to cap off the morning, culinary students handed out loaves of freshly baked pumpkin bread as people left:

What a great event! The fundraiser brought in more money than ever before, and it will go a long way in supporting our students and programs. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support EVITEF!

Welding for a good cause

I popped by the welding classroom to see what they were up to today, and I spotted teacher Pete Acosta working on one of the centerpieces for the EVIT Education Foundation's Annual Gourmet Breakfast Fundraiser.

The welding folks are creating dozens of centerpieces that will be auctioned off to raise money at the breakfast. One student showed me part of a moon centerpiece he has been working on.

The finished product will be stunning.