- Wanda White: Goodbye.
Leave everything outside that door...
Thank you. - Have a good night.
- Wanda: You, too.
...before you come in here,
because you're gonna easily be distracted,
and we wanna keep you focused.
So, leave everything outside that door.
My name is Wanda White.
I am a retiree that came out of retirement
so that I can teach welding for students,
young high schoolers,
who is willing to learn the basic welding techniques.
So, today, we're gonna do T joints.
This type of field is very much in demand,
so why not lift some of these girls
and see if they are that interested
and earn a decent paycheck?
I've been welding here at the company
for about 30 years.
Gonna put that on the tube.
Right there, that's good.
When I first started, it was mostly male-dominated,
so I had to prove myself, and because I was doing so well,
they told me, "Oh, you've welded before.
There's no way you coulda done this
and you've never welded."
And they just kept telling me,
"There's no way, there's no way."
And within a week,
you know, I was out welding on the shop floor
and getting better every day.
And then, next thing you know, I was teaching.
Go ahead whenever you're ready.
[tool grinding]
I liked what I was doing over the years,
and I liked working for the company.
And I thought, "What can I do to give back to the company
"that gave me the opportunity
to prove myself as a worthy employee?"
We focus on safety, I tell 'em,
first, safety comes first, no matter where you are.
This, don't forget, use this.
That's safety.
Well, you know what?
Why not teach some of these girls these skills,
these welding skills?
I want you to tack right on the edge.
I've been teaching We Can Weld.
This is my fourth year.
All right, go ahead.
I get some great kids come through here.
I want it to be a six-week course.
That's not bad, not bad at all.
So let me get...
Because I think that's enough to get the basics done.
I'll get your hook back on, and you should be fine.
- All right, thank you. - All right?
And I don't mind teaching anybody
if you're willing to learn.
- Wanda? Love her.
- I think she's great.
She's, um...
She's probably one of the best welding teachers I've had.
- I constantly ask her questions on how I can be steadier, and,
you know, just improve.
- Wanda: I'm always here for you guys.
- Oh, yeah, we can tell that she really wants to be here.
And just, like, you can feel it when she talks to you
and when she helps you, so it's really nice.
- Wanda: Yeah, it just makes you feel good.
It makes me feel good.
It's a great accomplishment to me when they're learning
a skilled trade that can only improve their life.
And I'm proud of all of it.
Every bit of it.
I have no regrets.
[groovy music]