Girl Meets Metal: KCSOS’s College and Career Programs Host Girls Welding Workshops

Kern County girls traded a day of summer vacation for welding hoods and Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welders, stepping into a workshop where they learned a skill long associated with men. For many, it was their first exposure to careers in the trades and an opportunity to see those professions as potential future paths.

As demand for skilled workers continues to grow, KCSOS’s College and Career Programs are helping students explore career pathways through hands-on experiences. One recent workshop series gave Kern County girls the opportunity to learn how to weld and discover a career they might never have considered before.

“Welding is a beautiful mix of technical precision and hands-on creativity,” said Arnie Gonzalez, K-12 Pathway Specialist, College and Career Programs. “When a student strikes her very first arc and successfully fuses two pieces of steel together, you can literally see a spark light up in their mind.”

The program, co-hosted by the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium and Meraki Creative Works, began with an introductory session at KCSOS’s Future Readiness Center before students traveled to Meraki’s Rosedale studio to meet founder and welder Alisyn Palla. There, the girls learned welding and plasma cutting techniques and designed two metal projects: a daisy and a cactus.

Meraki is a creative makerspace in northwest Bakersfield offering welding, pottery, ceramics and embroidery classes, with plans to expand into blacksmithing, glass blowing and woodworking. Palla, a self-taught welder and attorney for more than 20 years, discovered welding after a neighbor gave her a welder 15 years ago. What began as curiosity became a passion for both the craft and teaching others.

“I’ve realized that when you teach someone how to weld that has never welded before, there’s a level of empowerment that happens,” Palla said.

The trades also offer strong earning potential. Fields such as welding and advanced manufacturing are seeing more women enter their ranks. Women in construction earn about 94 cents for every dollar earned by men, compared to about 83 cents in many traditional office settings.

“This workshop is about giving these girls the exposure and tools they need to achieve true financial independence right here at home,” Gonzalez said. “The Central Valley is hungry for skilled talent in energy, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing.”

At the Future Readiness Center, students learned about Kern County’s trade industry and watched the recent New York Times video, “Can California Convince Teens to Work in Construction?”, featuring interviews with young people who chose careers in the trades.

One California State University, Los Angeles student captured the day’s message.

“AI’s not going to build a home. AI isn’t going to weld anything either,” the student remarked.

The girls in attendance had the chance to experience that reality for themselves. Some even had similar views about the choice between attending college and attending a trade school.

“I think attending college is good,” Iris Medina, a workshop attendee and recent Bakersfield High School graduate said. “But if you think you could do a career in the trades, you should do it.”

At Meraki, students received a crash course in safety, chemistry, and equipment before learning the fundamentals of welding. The students wore personal protective equipment including bandanas, gloves, boots, Meraki-branded long-sleeved shirts, and welding hoods to handle the 10,000-degree tools. Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” blasted through the speakers as the girls picked up their Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welders. Bright blue arcs flared to life across the workstations.

The girls were not headed to a danger zone at all. Palla moved from station to station, guiding the girls’ technique and giving encouragement. By then, any hesitation from the morning had disappeared.

For Myla Mackey, a soon-to-be eighth-grade student at Valley Oaks Charter School, the biggest challenge during welding was learning the correct distance needed to strike an arc.

“You had to hold it to get it to a certain point,” Mackey explained, demonstrating with her hands how close the welding gun had to be to the piece of metal.

Mackey is already interested in the trades, and took a woodworking class in school last year. Mackey’s father, a construction worker, loaned her his work boots for the day, and her mother purchased her a fire-resistant shirt, which she wore to the workshop. Whether or not she pursues a career in welding, she said, the experience made for a memorable summer activity.

Aria Gutierrez, a soon-to-be eighth grade student at Whitley Elementary School, received a workshop flyer at school, and had never considered welding as a career before. She finished the workshop amazed at how quickly she picked up the skills.

“My favorite project was the flower, because it was super hard for me to figure out which way it was supposed to go,” Gutierrez said, pointing at metal washers she welded onto the daisy. “I messed up a couple times, but I really liked the adventure.”

An added perk was the chance to weld alongside new peers from across Kern County while learning how to network professionally at Meraki.

“By creating a workshop specifically designed for girls, we take away that initial intimidation of walking into a heavy industrial shop,” Gonzalez explained. “We create a supportive space where they can look around and realize, ‘Hey, I absolutely belong here.”

For Palla, the workshop’s ultimate purpose was to inspire confidence in the participants and create a greater appreciation for skilled trades and those who work in them.

“I hope the young ladies leave the workshops empowered and excited, whether it’s about welding or not, and have a confidence boost that they did something they didn’t think they could do. That is my end game for them,” Palla said.