As a single mother of three, welding professor Heather McKendree doubted her ability to pursue an education on top of her already busy schedule. Though content with the administrative and customer service work she’d done her whole life, Ms. McKendree was ready to pursue her passion for working with her hands. And when her daughter showed the same interest in high school, Ms. McKendree knew the time was now.
“When my daughter was a senior, she was interested in taking welding classes at the Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center. Unfortunately, she wasn’t accepted into the program,” says Ms. McKendree.
Back to the drawing board, Ms. McKendree looked into Germanna’s skilled trades offerings to see if her daughter could receive the same training there.
“And since I’d always loved working with my hands, I decided to sign up for classes, too.”
Ms. McKendree and her daughter began their journeys to being skilled welders at Germanna in 2022. Today, Ms. McKendree is an adjunct welding instructor at the College.
“I never saw myself in a teaching position, but now that I’m in it, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she says.
Growing up, Ms. McKendree was very familiar with the skilled trades industry, as her father was a welder.
“He was very artsy and thought outside of the box,” she says. “I would always help him on his side jobs, and I found that I was truly fascinated by welding.”
Though her father wasn’t the best teacher, Ms. McKendree would follow his lead, learning the ins and outs of the craft right by his side.
With no formal training, Ms. McKendree showed great promise in welding.
“It was never a dream job for me, though,” she says. She opted for customer service roles where she’d be able to help people.
But when her daughter’s interest in welding grew, Ms. McKendree was intrigued by the idea of revisiting her old hobby.
In September 2022, she and her daughter began taking Germanna’s Core Craft class, an introductory course that gives students a solid foundation in construction skills, safety, and hand and power tools.
And with things going well, Ms. McKendree was eager to take the next step. She asked Business and Career Coordinator Ben Sherman if she and her daughter could move on to the next level and join the welding class starting in October.
“Even though we weren’t done with the core craft class yet, we wanted to keep the momentum going and knock it out,” she says.
Mr. Sherman approved her request, and that October, Ms. McKendree and her daughter were enrolled in the core craft class and welding at the same time—an unheard-of occurrence at Germanna.
“It was definitely a challenging time,” she recalls, as she had to balance her full-time job, her children, and her coursework all at once.
But her determination and dedication paid off, as she finished the welding program in January 2023 and received an Academic Excellence Award alongside her daughter upon graduation.
After graduating from Germanna, Ms. McKendree was offered a $1,000 scholarship, which she used to purchase her own personal welder and a generator. And with her newly developed skills and brand-new professional equipment, she was inspired to start her own welding company.
WeldHer Welding & Creations is where Ms. McKendree’s creativity has room to soar. She creates unique designs using old horseshoes, tools, and furniture, and sells her projects at local craft fairs and farmer’s markets.
“People will also call me for repairs,” she says. “So, I just load all of my equipment into my car and go help them if I can.”
And since she doesn’t do welding full time, teaching is her way of regularly practicing the trade. At Germanna, she teaches in a classroom and shop setting, where students learn how to weld using real-world tools.
“Most of the students I teach have never welded before, so it’s fun to be able to pass along my knowledge.” Her inspiration behind teaching came from her own welding professor at Germanna, Saxon Gray.
Giving back to the very college that started her welding career, Ms. McKendree looks forward to teaching even more welding classes at Germanna and inspiring more women to start careers in the trades.
“In my time at Germanna, I have seen the number of female trade students increase significantly. I’m humbled to be one of the few women representing the trades at Germanna, and I’m excited for the future of the College’s welding program.”