East Career and Technical Academy gives students a chance to earn industry recognized certifications before they even graduate.

One program is forging bright futures with hands-on experience in a high-demand career.

♪♪ (Marco Centeno) The name of the program that we're doing right now is Welding Technology, and I've been here since 2010 in this school.

(Matthew) I joined this program just because I like that hands-on learning.

Welding is something that's always piqued my interest, and it's something that I look to further a career into.

(Kamile) I decided to take welding because I saw it as something different, a new opportunity, and this seemed really exciting to me.

(Cecilia) I love the technicality of it.

I like how hands-on it is and how there's so much you can do with it and all the different applications you can apply it to.

-The first thing they're learning is they're learning all the skills that they need to stay hireable.

They're learning all the basics of the welding field: shield metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding.

Right now, we're using a pipe beveler so they can start their pipe welding.

They're doing quite a bit.

They're not going to be masters of all of them, but as long as they have a knowledge of it, they won't be so intimidated when they're out there.

-I think Mr.

Centeno, our instructor, puts a lot of shop experience into his curriculum.

Like, he definitely enforces and emphasizes how important it is to have good shop attitude and being in your PPE all the time, all that.

-My favorite part is the freedom you have in your creativity.

You can really create whatever you want by integrating what you learned in this class into a project.

And it's so rewarding at the end because the end product you have is so tangible; it's in your hands.

-I'm learning a lot.

Just being dedicated, disciplined, just trying, trying, trying over and over, finding out what works best, and just kind of problem solving is what I learned best from this.

-Well, we started by learning different weld symbols, how to draft and read it, read different drafts.

There's a lot of components that go into it that you have to keep an eye out for, and you have to be very focused to make sure you are creating quality welds.

-The students can earn a welding certification, because I am a certified welding inspector.

And when they earn that certification, they're able to present it to the job, and they get a better position to interview because of that certification.

-I think it guided me into my future, really, because it helped me find and decide what I wanted to do with my life.

I want to go into welding engineering, and I think-- I think that this program is what helped me decide what I wanted to do.

-I look to have a career in this field, and I think it's a great way to start and have an opportunity to learn first before I get out in the field.

-Freshman year, you're so timid and scared and, like, oh, my gosh, welding!

I'm really scared.

No.

Over time, you get used to it.

And over time you start loving it.

A lot of the students who are in their CTE programs, it helps them decide what industry they want to go into.

So I think that is very helpful.

-Apply to the classes.

See what you could get into.

Anything being outside or being in the shop kind of is great for anybody.

-I don't try to favor anybody.

If you do good, you do good.

If you do bad, I'll tell you about it.

I want you to do good.

I'm here for all my students.

-It's like, our community, no one here is scared to help each other.

No one here is scared to ask questions.

We're all here in this together and willing to learn together.

-That's incredible!

What an amazing opportunity.