Joey Jensen’s Welding Journey
Joey Jensen pictured inside the Ag Mechanics building at Petaluma High School.
If you love building, Joey Jensen wants you to consider a career in the skilled trades. The 17 year old Petaluma High Senior and FFA Chapter President is an aspiring sanitary welder, attending Butte College in Chico upon graduation this June. He shares how his journey through the Petaluma FFA and Ag Mechanics CTE classes offered at the high school fueled his love for welding and opened doors of opportunity for him.
How did you get exposed to welding?
My cousin had a welding business that my dad worked for, and then my dad went out and started his own welding business. I was welding at a very young age, like 9 or 10 years old.
Tell me about your role with Petaluma FFA (Future Farmers of America) and how that has been a catalyst for you to pursue welding in high school?
I’m currently President of our FFA chapter at Petaluma High, which I’m so honored to be. My exposure to FFA also started very young. My parents were both a part of the same FFA chapter and my dad was even the President of his chapter. When I was little I used to show dairy cattle at the fair and aspire to be like the people I saw in blue jackets all around town. But then when I learned to weld it opened up this opportunity for me to not only show animals, but now I could build projects for the fairs, called weld samples or weld coupons. This is how I actually got to meet Mr. Dunn (Petaluma High’s Ag Mechanics teacher). When I was in 6th grade he came up to me at the fair and said he’d love to have me in his welding classes once I got to high school.
What other skills have you been exposed to that may have surprised you?
There are a few things. First, I’ve recently taken a small engines and diesel mechanics class and have learned a lot of new skills that I didn’t even know I could do. Basically we’re taking compact gasoline and diesel engines and completely tearing them down to nothing and rebuilding them. Two or three months ago I was scared to even look at a bolt and now I feel comfortable tearing apart and putting back together an engine.
And second, I’m on the Ag Mechanics team through Petaluma FFA. Myself and a few of my friends/classmates travel the state every spring, and we compete in statewide competitions. These competitions consist of welding, wiring, woodwork, metal work. For example, there’s an electrical component to the competition where we are given pre-made boards with electrical boxes on them and we have to re-wire those boxes based on the instructions during the competition. You could say you’re basically wiring a house just on a small scale. I never thought I’d get to learn those skills outside of welding.
Does your work go towards credits or certifications?
Given the pathway I chose in high school which is the Power, Structural, and Technical Systems pathway as well as my affiliation with FFA, it’s required to keep an AET (Agricultural Experience Tracker). So every student that's a member has a record book and they log every hour that they're working in the class and you have to have a project outside of school too. That allows me access to certain scholarships through FFA, and basically gives me a resume showing the 2,200 hours (!) I’ve logged over the course of the last four years, plus additional hours working outside of school, as well as my certifications – Ag Mechanics, state certifications, public speaking competitions. Having this record log gives you a leg up when looking at apprenticeships, trade schools or colleges post high school.
What doors has welding opened up for you post high school?
I always thought I was going to weld in high school, and then go work for my dad. But now that I've traveled the state and been exposed to different welding opportunities because of FFA and the Ag Mechanics class, I now will be attending Butte College’s Welding Technology Program, pursuing certificates in stainless steel food grade welding, and applying for jobs after. My big goal now is to be out on the field welding as a sanitary welder.
What sparked your interest in sanitary welding?
It started almost about a year ago now. Mr. Dunn took me and a few other students to an event called Arc Exposure up at Butte College and they held a two day class where they bring students in from high schools all around the state, and they just go teach them different processes of welding. In literally two days kids can learn how to weld. We went on an industry tour to Sierra Nevada Brewing and I got to see the people welding the pipes and doing sanitary welding. It was something that sparked my interest because I love TIG welding which is definitely one of the hardest welding processes. I got to try it there and it was something that came natural to me, I loved it, and it was super fun.
What excites you most about welding?
I love building. Even if we have a week where we’re not building anything in class, I love to just go sit in the booth with a piece of metal and just weld as much as I can. It kind of calms me down in a way. I also love being able to see something in my head, drawing it and then actually building it. Making it come to life. The fact that I know I can make it happen. I love seeing my projects from start to finish.
What’s been incredible about Mr. Dunn and his class, is that you can bring him a plan and he’ll say “I’ll teach you how to do this and we will make this an accomplishable build.” He instills that sense of confidence that you can build anything you set your mind to.
What skills or qualities are most successful for the field of welding?
Having patience. Patience was something that I never had before, and I can say that over the last four years of welding I have gained patience. Teamwork is another big one. Whether you're a helper, in a shop, or on your own, you're always going to be working with somebody else.
Lastly, having knowledge in math. Math is a humongous part of welding, not only with building, but with amperages – the unit used to measure electric current.
What’s the most challenging part of welding?
I think TIG welding is the most challenging type of welding which is why I’ve been so drawn to it. It’s a lot of coordination required between hands to create a clean and visually appealing weld. My right hand manipulates a tungsten electrode to create an electric arc that generates heat, forming a puddle of molten metal, while gas shields the weld from contaminants. Then my left hand feeds a filler rod into the puddle, requiring precise timing and even distribution. And then I have to combine all of that to make it look nice.
What’s been your favorite project that you’ve worked on?
Last year for our Dinner Dance, a fundraiser for our FFA chapter, we built a table. I made a special frame for the top that had a buck imprint that I designed and cut out on the plasma table we have in the shop. I also applied a patina to the metal.
What do you wish younger students knew about pursuing a path in welding?
I wish they knew that they can make their ideas come to life. Like if they put their heart towards anything, they can see anything and build it in front of them. And it's not just melting metal. You’re learning to work with other people. You’re having a fun time doing it. I have very, very few bad days in the shop. I love it. I love working with other people. I wish they knew how fun the trades actually are and where they can get you in life.
What have you loved the most about your experience here at PHS?
Having the opportunity to do hands-on work and learn with a lot of my friends. We’re not sitting in a classroom reading a book, we’re building things together.
