Graduate Connections – Meet Ashley Parson

Ashley, 23, from Hereford, TX, completed the Professional Welding program at Tulsa Welding School in January 2020.

Thanks for your time, Ashley. Did you enroll in TWS out of high school back in 2019?

Yes, I graduated high school in May 2019, took June off, and moved to Tulsa on July 4th, 2019. I was 17. 

Moving out of state is a big move for a 17-year-old. How was it?

I was excited to start, but I did miss my parents, and I did call home often. There’s a big difference between how many women and male welders there are. I moved into an apartment with another gal and three male roommates who were all starting welding school! That terrified my mom , she was so nervous!  

Did you know any of them before?

No, I didn’t. There were a handful of guys from my high school going to Tulsa Welding School, but they did morning class, and I did afternoons. I wasn’t really friends with them, but we were cool.

So, where did the idea of welding school come from?

My high school had a program called Technology Education. You could do a variety of classes. My brother took an Automotive class and Welding; I tried an Engineering class my first semester, but my second semester as a freshman I decided to try welding. It turns out that I was a prodigy at it! 

A prodigy! Awesome. Why do you think that was?

My teacher had a big part to play in how quickly I grew in this field. His name was Mr. Ernest Cabezuela. I really took off in his class. I could get my hand to do what I wanted it to do before I even fully understood what I was doing. I just knew what to do, like I was a natural. I was 14, and I’ve been welding ever since.

When did you know you wanted to pursue welding as a career?

I went to a welding competition as a sophomore; honestly it was one of the most chaotic days ever. I’d left my striker at home, and because I have dyslexia, I couldn’t read the blueprint very well. It was so confusing to me. I just winged it, but I still came in second in my division. That’s when I said, “Mom, I want to be a welder! I really enjoy this. I love the way it makes me feel, just melting metal and telling it what to do.” The thought of me being a welder made my mom and dad nervous, but they both supported me anyway. 

Had you done any welding at all before that high school program, or any family connection? 

No. The only person in my family that I knew was a welder is my cousin, but I didn’t weld with him. What helped me is my mom is the Jack-of-all-Trades in our family. I learned early on from her that I like building things, working with my hands. Then I picked up welding, and I was off to the races!

What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS 

Other than actually doing the welding, I had some really cool instructors. You can tell that the teachers are there to help a new generation into the workforce; that’s the best type of teacher you can have. These guys liked to have fun while teaching, but they also made sure that we knew welding isn’t completely safe. They told us we’d have to watch our backs and our teammates’ backs because bad things can happen. But they were fun to work with and they were patient. They helped us whenever we hit a hiccup.

Did you find the program hard or easy?

It started out easy, it came naturally. I actually articulated in because of my high school experience, so I skipped two phases. The biggest deficit I had was I’m too short to reach the machine, so I had to bring a stepstool with me most of my phases! I didn’t hit trouble until we did pipe welding. Sometimes I’d go sit in the stairwell for five minutes before I could deal with that nightmare!  

So, you got done with the program in about five and a half months, rather than seven? 

I would have, but we had two family tragedies which meant I had to take some time out to be with my family. I had to miss more days than I could make up, so I had to rephase. It still took around seven months. 

I’m sorry for your loss. So, you finished welding school in January 2020. Talk to us about work. 

After welding school, I decided to stay in Oklahoma. I’d met a great group of people, and I wanted to stay in Tulsa. The school helped me get a job at the bus plant. I didn’t really like it there. It wasn’t for me. It wasn’t like a real welding job. I was only there for a few weeks before COVID shut everything down anyway. So, I ended up going back home for a while to help my parents run their steakhouse. 

What did you do when everything settled down?

I came back to Tulsa and got a job to support myself and decided to go back to school. I got a certification in Industrial Maintenance. It encompassed just how machines run, their control systems, programming, and the robotics that go with it. I did welding jobs on the side; I got hired by a guy who runs a coffee shop here in Tulsa to build a couple of projects for him; that was really cool. 

So, where are you working now?

When I got out of school in the summer of 2023, I started looking for work again. I found this job that said Millwright and I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m at J+H Automation Solutions; I’ve been here over a year now. We are an automation solutions company. Most of the time we service machines and systems we install, or we do the installation. It’s mostly conveyor systems, and a lot of the time we work with robots.

Did you get the job because of your welding or your industrial maintenance education?

A combination of both. I still do a lot of welding at this job. I have to accredit a lot of it to the skills I developed from my welding school training. I was back at TWS just last week because there’s a new project I’ve started in Texas this week, and I have a lot of welding to do. My superiors deemed that I’m our team’s best welder, so whenever I had the time, I went back to school to burn rods and practice for this project.

Are you happy with where you are financially? 

Yes. My company pays us pretty decently and the overtime, whenever we get it, is really nice. But like a lot of travel or project-based jobs, if we don’t work, we don’t make money. This past week was pretty quiet, but I’m in Texas for the next couple of weeks. After the election, I expect it will all pick back up.

What is your career plan from here, Ashley?

Back in high school I never thought that I would be doing the work that I do now, but I enjoy the variety. So, this is definitely something I plan on doing for the next couple of years. As I get older, I think I’ll want to find something closer to home, where I’m not on the road and our schedule isn’t so crazy. I could be a full-time welder, or I could do industrial maintenance somewhere. One of my friends showed me a position called a welding engineer. I guess you work on projects with other engineers, but with the field experience of a welder. That would be interesting. But I mean for me, the sky’s the limit. I’ll see where life takes me.

What do you enjoy most about your new trade?

Sometimes women in this field get looked at differently. I’m not the strongest member of my team, they don’t call me in for heavy lifting. But I enjoy the opportunity of working with these guys. Most of them have treated me equally; they don’t look at me like I’m just some girl. I just got a new boss, and his wife got hired on. So, it’s just us two women and 50 dudes. Even if it gets stressful sometimes, my team and I do our best to have fun with each other while we work, and to enjoy what we’re doing. I also enjoy the variety of different jobs we get, and the different places we get to go to nationwide. We do a lot of different projects for many companies in several different states, and that’s pretty cool to me. 

Five years out of school, did you make some friends/connections you are still in touch with?

I’m still friends with my roommate, Yesmin, we still talk once in a blue moon. But I kept to myself in school. 

What advice do you have for someone to be successful at Tulsa Welding School? 

My best advice, especially if you haven’t touched a welding machine before, is to give yourself grace as you learn. It’s not often that someone can just pick it up and be good at it. As much as I enjoy welding, I had times when I just wasn’t getting it. So, give yourself grace, especially if you are new to it. 

Also, do your best to learn how to weld with your non-dominant hand, and learn how to weld when you’re uncomfortable. My company just sent to me Sulphur Springs, Texas, to do a project for Liberty Trailers. I’m doing a lot of welding, but due to how the rail is set, I have to weld with both my right and left hands. There are and will continue to be uncomfortable spots, but I’ve just got to get on with the job. 

One last thing…Don’t be afraid to ask questions. In the end you’re only hurting yourself if you keep quiet and just try to figure it out. It’s a lot better to go ask your question and know the answer, than to just suffer alone.

If you’re a TWS graduate and would like to share your success and be an inspiration to others, please email [email protected] to be considered for a Graduate Connection interview. Please include details such as your graduation date (month/year), program, and campus name (Tulsa/Jacksonville/Houston/Dallas).