Building Bright Futures: Welding Program Expands Opportunities for Mount Horeb Students
Mount Horeb is one of those Wisconsin towns where people set roots and stay. As you drive through the rolling hillside of the Driftless Region, it’s not hard to see why. The area is gorgeous and still only a stone’s throw from the energy and excitement of Madison.
Aubree Hanks, Resource Development and PR Coordinator for the Mount Horeb Area School District, has only been with the district for under a year, but even she has noticed the deep roots. “Looking through the names of students, parents, donors, and alumni, the same names keep popping up,” she said.
But towns like this don’t thrive on their beauty alone. Interwoven with the rolling hillsides is a patchwork of farm fields dotted with bright red barns – and behind that pastoral beauty is a foundation of machinery, buildings, and equipment. And all of it has to be built, maintained, and repaired by skilled hands.
When people stay, it’s critical that the infrastructure is there to make sure they thrive. That’s why educators like Pam Allen become linchpins of the community.
Pam has been teaching Agricultural Sciences at Mount Horeb High School for 36 years and has always kept a sharp eye on the evolving needs of local industries. On any given day, she moves effortlessly between correcting tests, offering live feedback to novice welders, and sharing her passion for helping students connect classroom learning with real-world careers.
Agricultural Sciences is a featured program at Mount Horeb High School, where students explore veterinary science, horticulture, and now – thanks to Pam’s vision – mechanics, welding, and soon, fabrication.
Building Skills for the Future
Out of roughly 700 students, 126 are enrolled in welding and mechanics classes. That growth is no accident. When Pam realized how essential welding is to growing local industries, she didn’t let a lack of experience hold her back. During the 2020 school year, while hands-on classes were paused, she enrolled at Madison Area Technical College (MATC) to earn welding credentials and the ability to offer dual-credit courses.
Now, she’s working to expand the program even further with fabrication courses that challenge students to not only make things, but to design and problem-solve.
“I wanted to add something to the curriculum that would give students the skills to make something bigger,” Pam said. “Beyond just making it, I want them to think critically about design and engineering. That’s what fabrication opens the door to.”
A Toolbox That Tells the Story
Pam already has the vision and a dedicated group of students eager to learn, but sometimes lacks the necessary tools. To illustrate this, she pulls out a small, handmade toolbox. It’s a simple rectangular box with a handle, more like a lunch pail than a professional tool chest.
She chuckles as she sets it on the workbench. It’s not fancy, but it’s the best her class could make with their current equipment. Their small pan brake simply can’t bend large pieces of sheet metal.
That toolbox has become a symbol of both how far the program has come and how much more is possible with the right support.
Support from the Forward Foundation
To take the next step, Pam and Aubree turned to the TDMAW Forward Foundation, a nonprofit launched in 2020 to enhance educational opportunities for students pursuing manufacturing and metalworking careers.
Their grant request for $5,865 was approved in full earlier this year, allowing Mount Horeb to purchase a bend tester, a larger pan brake, and sheet metal – essential tools to strengthen the welding and fabrication curriculum.
“The taxpayers helped by paying for the new room, but we still need the big-ticket items,” Pam said. “Grants like this one help us expand the curriculum in meaningful ways.”
The new equipment is already making an impact. The bend tester allows students to precisely measure the strength and quality of their welds, skills they recently applied in building a braille sign holder for a local sensory garden. Soon, the new pan brake will replace the one that limited their toolbox project, opening new possibilities for fabrication.
For Pete Kambouris, President of the Forward Foundation, these are exactly the outcomes the foundation aims to support.
“We established the Forward Foundation to ensure Wisconsin remains a leader in manufacturing,” said Kambouris. “By reducing barriers and providing resources to schools, we’re helping young people build practical skills, discover career pathways, and keep our state’s metalworking and machining industries strong.”
Through grants like this, the foundation fulfills its mission to promote manufacturing education, expand training access, and build a pipeline of skilled talent for Wisconsin companies.
Student Voices: Learning by Doing
Students like Lucy Rosemeyer, a ninth grader at Mount Horeb High School, are already seeing the benefits.
“This welding class interested me because I’ve taken Tech Ed classes before, but I have not welded,” Lucy said. “Having this new opportunity was something I couldn’t pass up.”
Lucy says the experience is opening new doors.
“Learning welding will definitely help in a future career,” she explained. “You learn the basics, and that sets you up to grow your skills. These classes are setting up students for future careers, and giving kids the ability to learn a skill with their hands during the school day.”
Looking Ahead
The program’s next goal is to add fabrication courses with MATC dual-credit opportunities. Pam estimates it will take another two to three years and about $40,000 in additional equipment to fully realize that vision.
But with strong community support, determined educators, and partners like the Forward Foundation, Mount Horeb is forging a clear path for the next generation of makers.
“It’s exciting to see students like Lucy develop hands-on skills and confidence,” said Kambouris. “They are the future of Wisconsin manufacturing.”
In towns like Mount Horeb, that future looks bright – and built to last.