FREDERICKTOWN — Three new welders are set to bring sparks, skills and new career opportunities to Fredericktown High School.
The school is investing in a new welding program with three new welders. Students will now have a chance to begin developing industry skills earlier than ever before.
The project was made possible through a $23,000 grant from the Knox County Foundation and donations from Marsha Rinehart ($15,000) and Greg Rinehart ($13,500).
The total combined amount of $51,500 will go toward the purchase of three welders for the high school. The money will also help pay for safety equipment, PPE, welding booths and extra accessories.
Fredericktown plans to introduce welding skills through the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources course and Mechanical Principles course in the spring 2027.
The following year, the district plans to offer a Foundations of Welding course for students in grades 10 through 12. An advanced course could also be added if enrollment and interest grows.
Students will learn safety procedures, fundamental welding skills and techniques. Classes will also allow students to work toward OSHA-10 and Lincoln Electric/NC3 industry-recognized credentials.
Local industry partners, UMD Automated Systems and Kokosing Construction Company, have committed to supporting the program. The companies will provide materials, facility tours, job-shadowing, guest speakers and curriculum guidance.
A growing field
Fredericktown High School Principal Ryan Shoemaker said the new equipment is an opportunity for students to explore potential career options while still in high school.
“I think being able to get these donations and these grants just shows that our community members are confident in the work that we’re doing at Fredericktown,” Shoemaker said.
The program will also help students determine whether welding is a career they want to pursue.
“This will help expose students early, so if they know they have an aptitude for welding, they’ll know their freshman or sophomore year and then they can apply to the (Knox County Career Center) for full-time welding,” Shoemaker said.
The welding courses will also give students who wish to stay at Fredericktown a chance to continue developing their skills.
“It connects directly to (students) future. It directs to our community and prepares them for those high demand careers,” Shoemaker said.
In fact, the Knox Area Development Foundation’s 2024 Knox County Workforce Demand Study identified welding as the second highest need occupation.
“For Fredericktown, creating those innovative opportunities that our county needs, those in demand skills, that benefits both students in our community and helps make Knox County stronger,” Shoemaker said.
That investment comes from both the school and the local community members who made this program possible.
“We just couldn’t be more happy with the Knox (County) Foundation and Marsha Rinehart and Gregory Reinhart both investing in us and seeing the impact they have on the next generation,” Shoemaker said.
‘Welding is just as much an art as it is a science’
Agricultural Education Instructor Madeline Elfrink was motivated by students to apply for the grant.
“Our freshman class during the 2025–26 school year was especially vocal about wanting opportunities to learn welding, and students across the program really reinforced that interest,” Elfrink wrote in an email.
Existing equipment helped introduce students to welding and sparked their interest.
The welding program would have otherwise taken years to afford without the grant, Elfrink wrote.
The new equipment will better reflect a modern workplace, which is especially important in the welding industry.
“Modern welding continues to become more technologically advanced. Working with equipment that more closely reflects what they may see in the industry helps make their experience safer, more relevant and more valuable when they enter the workforce,” Elfrink wrote.
Elfrink will participate in Lincoln Electric’s Train-the-Trainer program in November to prepare. That training will go toward providing students with the highest-quality instruction possible, according to Shoemaker.
“One of the things I’m most excited to see is the ‘aha’ moment students get while learning to weld,” Elfrink wrote. “Welding is just as much an art as it is a science, and becoming competent takes a great deal of practice.”
The program will give students an opportunity to gain confidence and learn something challenging. That ability and willingness will be valuable in adulthood, no matter the career they choose, Elfrink wrote.
“More than anything, I hope students recognize two things from this opportunity: that their community, through the generosity of the Knox County Foundation and other donors, is willing to invest in them, and that they have a community worth investing back into,” Elfrink wrote.
