WireCrafters signing day at PRP High School kickstarts 3 students’ careers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - It was signing day at Pleasure Ridge Park High School but it wasn’t for future college athletes, instead it’s for those in the Welding Academy.

WireCrafters started this trend last year to celebrate students going straight into their careers in their trade.

College isn’t for everyone and that’s okay and for three students at PRP High School, they’re proving that learning a trade can be just as valuable as going to college.

For the second year in a row, WireCrafters and PRP High hosted a signing day for students who are starting their careers after getting a of high school diploma.

“We try to treat these kids because we tell them that the trades are as legitimate a career path as anything else you’d want to do. So we try to celebrate them to show them that we truly mean that,” WireCrafters Operations Manager Chad Anglin said. “So the signing day here and the sign on bonus is to show them that we really appreciate what they do.”

WireCrafters has been partnering with the Welding Academy at PRP High since 2018.

The company starts students in the summer after their junior year, they are co-op’d their senior year and then a full time job is an option after they graduate.

“When we can teach these young kids that it is important to be a welder and that it is every bit as important as a doctor or lawyer you’re also building the talent in your area that lifts the community as a whole,” Anglin said.

For students like Danielle Roberts, it gives her a chance to make a career out of something she’s done since grade school.

“Maybe when I was around 7 my dad got me into it and from them on I kept doing it with him and eventually I got to my Sophomore year and started doing it for this class for welding,” PRP High School Sophomore Danielle Roberts said. “And then went forward for there and was able to co-op.”

Instead of going the traditional route and going to college, Roberts says she can now move into her own apartment in two months.

It gives her the confidence and freedom to live her life the way she chooses fit.

“So I’m able to actually make a lot of money and I’m able to put forth like my hands on worth to make something cool or whether it’s like I just want to make in general on the side or if it’s something I get to put together to make something bigger,” Roberts said.

WAVE News asked Roberts what she wants to do with welding and she says she’s still trying to figure it out and is excited to work with WireCrafters and take whatever opportunity life throws at her.

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