Sparks fly as an old trade is kept alive Welding class on campus prepares students for professional career

Anxious to get to work, a classroom mostly filled with male students and a few females sits waiting to let their imaginations run wild.

Soon the room will be filled with sparks and the sounds heard in the professional environment of welding.

The technical term for the course is called Oxy-Acetylene Welding and it teaches beginning students a solid foundation in the principles of the craft and cutting, while emphasizing safety along with related information on equipment, ideas and materials, according to the Pierce Catalog course description.

Professor Eugene Korchmarev works with his students Mondays and Wednesdays -alongside professor Gary Wheeler who teaches the class Tuesdays and Thursdays- and just loves his job because he says he couldn’t imagine working in a cubical.

“I chose this career because I wasn’t the student type. I was a good student, but I wasn’t into it like I am with welding,” Korchmarev said. “I wanted a career where I could create things with my hands and be artistic.”

The class offers not only an understanding of welding but also creates jobs by allowing students to receive certification, according to Korchmarev.

“Our welding program specializes in structural steel certifications and we do have a few guys that do aerospace type programs,” Korchmarev said.

Matthew Wicksman, a 22-yearold automotive technology major, has always been interested in welding and how it can be beneficial to students.

“I took this class because I was always interested in making stuff with my own hands instead of buying it,” Wicksman said. “It is a lot of knowledge and you would never expect to have this much knowledge put into this type of class because a lot of people say it is not a worthy type job to have.”

The professor also adds that this type of industry is really needed in the future and welding will always be a necessary trade.

“There is such a need for this program. All these students in this class are learning a trade that could possibly carry them into a future career,” Korchmarev said. “I’d like to say we are the foundation for society, literally.”

Alexander McKee, a 22-year-old welding technology major, fights the stereotype that welding is not a sufficient career to have.

“Welding is the infrastructure of all the buildings on our campus and throughout the San Fernando Valley,” McKee said. “There is a lot of math and science behind it such as knowing the angels, degrees and metallurgy.”

Mckee is the only certified welder in this school, aside Gary

Q & A: ASO treasurer Adriana Lemus

Chiara Perbil Roundup Reporter

Associated Students

Organization treasurer, Adriana Lemus, hopes to bring back Pierce’s reputation of being an agricultural school, during her rst year with the ASO.

How did you find out about ASO?

I really had to dig my way in. I had to figure out where the office was first and then I had to find out what needed to be done to become a part of ASO.

What do you hope to accomplish within your term?

I wanted to see if we could get one of the college’s greenhouses fixed but it turns out I can’t do it from this level. Another project was that I wanted to improve the life of the college’s animals. Pierce is losing a lot of the reputation of being an agricultural school. We wanted to host fundraisers for the animals.

What are some of the difficult decisions you’ve had to make so far?

I have had to restrict myself from wanting to approve everything and give the money to everyone. There are a lot of requests coming in and not just from the clubs but even the school. I want to help everyone out but you can’t just spend the money on everything.

How do you balance school and ASO?

It is hard. Recently I was working overnights at my job, I couldn’t study without falling asleep and my body just broke down where I got really sick. It was very tough.

How do you think ASO made you a stronger person?

It has helped me to be open with people because usually I can kind of be off-putting but with ASO I have had to talk to all kinds of students and lose the shyness.

What are your educational goals after Pierce?

I hope to transfer after this semester to California State University, Northridge. I would like to and Eugene and urges students in this field to become certified.

The class facility first opened in 1964 and still thrives, according to Korchmarev.

“This welding class is the most expensive on campus but what it offers to students is a life time of knowledge in the trade,” Korchmarev said.

People in this field do not just see it as a job, but they see it as helping communities build themselves.

“A huge factor about this trade is that it is so rewarding especially like when doing structural steel you are building someone’s house or business,” Korchmarev said. Wicksman explains that Pierce is not just a school where you take your generals and transfer to a university, but where you can take a class that trains you for a job in a particular trade.

“This program directly feeds into employable jobs for the community,” Wicksman said. “The purpose of Pierce is not just to be a feeder school to the universities .

It is a community college that is supposed to provide job training, and this is one of the programs that does that directly.”

The class also holds the welding club where students can enhance and improve their welding skills, according to Gary Weiser, the club president.

For those interested in welding, the Pierce College Welding Club currently meets during class Monday through Thursday from 5:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., in Auto Technology 3805.

Inking more than just his homework

Student ta oo artist nds time for his passion

Fitting in two jobs, the workload of a part-time student and freelance work into a 24-hour time period is a daunting task capable of trouncing almost any individual.

study accounting and become an accounting manager somewhere.

Are you currently a member of any other organizations?

I am in the National Society of Leadership and Success. They are like an honor society at Pierce.

Are there any upcoming events for ASO?

I have tried to get together with the wellness committee, social and cultural committee, and the feminist club to see if we can put a Valentine’s day event together so hopefully things will happen.

This juggling act is performed every week by 21-year-old Pierce College student Chris Halawani, a music major.

Graduating from Sylmar High School in 2011, Halawani has been working at Subway and Foot Locker while attending Pierce. Along the way he has garnered a passion for something not offered on the college campus: tattooing.

Always having a passion for art, Halawani cites work as a reason for his involvement with tattoos. He also credits other people’s art work as a contributing factor to his love for tattoos.

“My main motive was money because work was kind of slow and then I just fell in love with it,” Halawani said. “It’s exactly like drawing.”

Starting only about seven months ago, the transition from drawing to tattooing seemed to happen with ease for Halawani.

He picked it up rather quickly because he had been drawing all of his life and first tattooed someone after very little practice.

He said it was second nature for him.

“Once I got my machine, my boy Baker was just like, ‘Tat me up,’” Halawani said. “Most people practice a lot; I didn’t.”

With support from friend Derron Baker, Halawani was given his first to show off his talents as Baker offered to be his canvas.

Since then he has gotten seven more tattoos, all courtesy of Halawani.

“I loved it,” Baker said. “I love all the work that’s on my body from him.”

A music major at Pierce for the past two years, Halawani is a parttime student taking classes such as

Talia Farber / Roundup sociology and psychology.

ARTIST: Chris Halawani,21, music major, on Monday Oct. 7. Halawani maintains two full time jobs, is a part-time student, and also runs his own tattoo business.

He splits his time between work and school, making it difficult to juggle everything at once, calling it “tiring.”

“It‘s super stressful,” Halawani said. “On Monday I was falling asleep in class and I got mad because I do not want to be sleeping in class. It’s real hard.”

With about 10 tattoos so far, Halawani’s body serves as an advertisement for his work as he is covered with his own symbolic artwork that he does on himself on his downtime.

Halawani said that the tattoos that are on his body are full of meaning.

“All my body is basically my story,” Halawani said. “Symbolism; all that. Everything on my body has to have a story and a real meaning.”

Monique Becker, a client of Halawani’s, says that she too was satisfied with her finished product, calling it “beautiful.” Becker said that she would definitely let Halawani give her more tattoos and is even looking into one right now, saying she feels he can definitely make it a career because of his passion.

“I had two sessions for my own and then I brought my brother to him as well,” Becker said.

“Both times he had a couple of sketchbooks that he was showing around and he was very passionate about them and his drawings.”