Graduate Connections – Meet Hailey and Caitlin Newgard

Hailey, 26, and Caitlin, 21, are sisters from a self-described ‘gypsy’ family who have lived all over the country. Hailey was born in Texas and Caitlin in Wisconsin, but they both completed the nine-and-a-half-month Welding Specialist with Pipefitting program at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville in October 2024.

Thanks for your time, ladies. Tell us your path to Tulsa Welding School; Hailey, let’s start with you.

I’ve done a lot. I was in retail; I’ve been a server, I did tattoos. I was a jeweler for a while, making jewelry. I worked outdoors as a resort trail guide, telling guests about hiking trails and climbing. I loved working with my hands, so I really enjoyed the jewelry and tattoos. Welding was always in the back of my mind. I don’t know why I was drawn to it, but then two years ago we found out that our great grandpa was a welder and pipefitter back in the day. When we relocated to Jacksonville in September 2023, I was sick of run of the mill jobs, so I looked up different schools. I’d gone to college for two years, but I didn’t want to go that route; I wanted to do something artsy, but I didn’t want to get my education in that. I thought I’d rather go the trade route. When I saw that TWS was close to the house, I went in with our older brother, David, and signed up the same day. When I told Caitlin, she was like, “Well, I want to do that too!”  

So, Caitlin, tell us about your shorter journey to welding school. 

I’ve worked since I was 17. I worked at a hair salon, I’ve worked retail at a makeup store, and I’ve worked at Amazon. Then, most recently just before welding school, I worked at a hookah lounge! 

Was it just FOMO, Caitlin? Why did you choose welding school? 

I’ve always been a hard-worker, I knew I wanted to go to school because I needed more hours and more money. Retail work isn’t going to give me more money, or decent raises. I’d been thinking of going to  trade school for hair, but when Hailey came home and said she’d signed up for welding school, I was like, “Dude, sign me up. I’ll literally go right now!” Honestly, I didn’t even know what welding was, but when I heard that Hailey was doing it, I was like, I need to do that, let’s go. 

Did your brother, David, sign up too, Hailey?

He was thinking about doing it with me, but he’s 27 and a carpenter and he didn’t want to start over again; he decided he’d rather progress his carpentry career. I was bummed and wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it alone; honestly, I felt pretty intimidated. But when Caitlin said that she was in, I thought, “Perfect!”

Did you sign up for the pipefitting course at the outset, or just welding? 

We were just going to do the Professional Welder program, but when we got to the last week we weren’t sure what direction to take, and honestly, we didn’t feel prepared enough to send out applications. We decided to add Pipefitting to learn some more skills and be able to continue to practice welding.  

Sounds smart. Hailey, what did you enjoy most about your time at TWS? 

Learning new things, how to make things. I like tinkering and I’m a creator; I’m very into art. So, it was fun implementing the techniques hands-on and then learning how to make stuff. I really enjoyed learning how to first lay a bead and then actually make something for myself or see something I created by welding. That’s what I really enjoyed. Also having my sister there was one of the best parts because we got to learn together and bounce off each other; it was fun to have that time together. 

What about you Caitlin, what did you enjoy most about TWS?

Learning new challenging things is something we need in life, it keeps it interesting. I liked learning how to use power tools. I was scared of them as a kid, thinking I’d hurt myself or mess up. But I got confident using tools, especially in pipefitting. I loved welding because I always have so many thoughts in my head. When you weld, you have to focus on the welding; it clears your mind. When you’re stressed out about life, welding is the best therapy. Welding calms me down and focuses my brain, especially the High Frequency TIG that Hailey and I do at work. It’s way more intricate, and it’s just calming. It’s the best type of welding! 

How did you find the program, Caitlin? Easy, difficult, frustrating?

Hailey and I decided we were going to weld no matter what. If we hated it, we were going to stick with it anyway because we needed this career. But there were definitely days where I was like, “Oh my God, I’m so done. I’m over this.” But there was never a thought in our brains that we’d ever give up, no matter what. We helped each other out; we weren’t going to let the other one fall behind.

And for you, Hailey?

It was definitely hard, but at the end of the day, we’re pretty determined people and like Caitlin said, we don’t really have anyone to fall back on, so we were like, “Alright, this is what we chose, so we’re going to stick with it, sink or swim.”  We were determined to swim no matter what. We also had each other, so if one of us didn’t get it, the other one would do a demo. It wasn’t easy, for sure, but it was definitely motivating having one another there. 

One more thing to mention, we had Mike as our first instructor, and he really eased a lot of anxiety for the rest of our experience. He was very calm, very Zen. He was very good at telling us to just breathe. He’d say, “Anytime you get overwhelmed, or just as soon as you drop your hood, take a deep breath and relax.” That stuck with me throughout welding school. Anytime I ever got really overwhelmed, I’d just breathe through it and know that it’s going to be okay; we’re just in school and we’re here to learn.

That’s awesome advice. So, where are you guys working?

We’re both working at Bellingham Marine in Jacksonville. We’re building gangways (floating docks).

Together again! Cool – how did you get the jobs?

Hailey and I did a Phase 11, which is an extra class you can take when you’re close to graduating to practice for a specific weld test. We did it for ARM Services, which was a high frequency TIG welding job; that’s how we learned the process. After Phase 11 we decided we didn’t want that job, so we stayed in pipefitting. We knew we wanted to stay in Jacksonville and none of the jobs coming our way were local. Then, Cheri in Career Services told us about a guy who’d gone to TWS in 2003, who was looking for high frequency aluminum welders. So, we met him, and he was the coolest guy ever. He brought us mockup boat gangways and told us to practice and send him photos. If he liked what he saw, we could take a weld test and get the job. So, we practiced consistently for weeks and when we felt our welds were looking good, we sent him photos and he was like, “Perfect”. Fortunately, he was looking for two welders and he hired us both!

Wow, that’s fate! Are you happy with where you’ve started out financially, Caitlin?

It’s the most I’ve ever been paid, so I’m definitely happy! We’re both happy with where we’re at, plus our foreman said he’s going to give us raises at our 90-day mark at the beginning of February. We actually just had our first review; he already wants to move us up, but we have to wait until our probation period ends. 

Did you always plan on working together? 

It’s funny because Cheri literally told us in the very beginning, before she even knew us, that working together probably wasn’t going to happen. Then nine months later she found us these jobs. We needed it though because we share a car right now, so it has worked out perfectly. We were just hoping that it would turn out this way, so  honestly, it’s the best-case scenario!   

What’s your ultimate career goal, Hailey? 

I’ll definitely be at Bellingham for the next couple of years at least. We’re both very happy and learning so much. We fabricate all the gangways, which includes blueprint reading, cutting, fitting, and then welding it all out. So, it’s the perfect job to learn. In time, with more experience, I’m definitely open to doing some shutdown traveling jobs. I think we’re both pretty open to seeing where this goes. I definitely want to move into building choppers (motorcycles), making more metal art, and kind of taking this in my own more creative direction eventually. I’d like to have my own business one day. 

And for you, Caitlin?

I’d like to try the pipeline; I’m going to force Hailey to come, just for a winter to see what it’s like!

Besides the art aspect, what do you enjoy most about this new trade, Hailey?

Welding is like a community because, honestly, we do fit in with welders. It seems like we have the same type of humor, everyone thinks the same way. It’s like everyone’s got that visual learning brain and it’s just nice to be around the same type of people. In school we clicked with a lot of people that we wouldn’t have met if not for school. And that’s translated the same now we’re going to work. It’s only been six weeks, but it feels like family there…everyone has that same vibe. We have found our people. 

And you, Caitlin, what do you enjoy most? 

What Hailey said is so true; I can fully be myself as a welder. At my old jobs I’d get in trouble for cussing all the time. But in welding, literally anything goes! It’s so nice to be around people where I can curse like crazy, and nobody cares! Welding is just so satisfying for me. It is so nice to just weld something and have it look beautiful. It’s just like…I don’t know…it’s a good time!

Do you have classmates you will stay in touch with?

We mostly kept our heads down because we were so focused on getting welding down pat, but towards the end we did make friends, especially in pipefitting. You’re not in a booth, you’re out in the open, so you talk more. You work with everybody else more in pipefitting, you’re not welding all the time; you’re mostly cutting and fitting stuff. So, we stay in touch with those people and a few other women welders that we saw around class. There’s also a girl at work who went to Tulsa Welding School, and we clicked right away. 

How do you find being young women in a male dominated environment?

The reason why Hailey and I knew we were going to be ‘all business’ at school is because the moment you’re nice to guys in a shop, they won’t leave you alone. They’ll literally stop you from working. So, you have to shut your curtain and start welding, flash burn them so they go away because otherwise they will not leave you alone! At work it’s been different, the guys all have wives and girlfriends, so it’s completely business. We’re just friends with everybody. It really does feel like they’re more respectful at work. From the start our boss, David, said, “If there are any problems, you come to me, and they’re fired!”

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

If you’re looking for a career and you want to weld, just jump in. Don’t overthink anything because you won’t regret it. I get nervous, I overthink stuff all the time; I didn’t even look up welding before I enrolled because I thought, “If I look at this, I’ll probably second guess myself.” It’s going to be hard, but as everyone says, if you just weld as much as you can and practice, it will click for you. You don’t have to work BS retail jobs, you can have an actual career in seven months, making actual good money that you can live off. 

And your advice, Hailey?

I agree with Caitlin; she is the perfect example because she’d never picked up a power tool, she literally didn’t know what welding is. You can make a difference; you can build something for your life. And when you’re welding at school, just breathe and remind yourself that you’re learning. It’s okay to fail, you can do it again. Failing in school is what’s going to make you a better welder. No one’s perfect, by failing you learn what you did wrong, what the right way is, and what you need to fix. The instructors are perfect for that because they’ll help and constantly remind you that it’s okay. That was good for me because I’m so hard on myself. If something doesn’t look good, I’ll beat myself up. But all the instructors were just relaxed. “Do another one”, they’d say. They have endless supplies at school; you can keep going and you can be there from morning to night if you want, just go in to school as much as you want.

Last question…who is the better welder? 

Hailey: We were better at different things! Caitlin picked up Stick quicker than I did. 

Caitlin: But Hailey was better at TIG than me and she was better at High Frequency until I went in one day to practice by myself and just ran welds for three hours straight, and then, boom, I was on the same level! But honestly, at work, we’re basically doing the same. We’re doing some MIG but mostly TIG, and it’s not hard if you know what a good weld looks like. We’re doing pretty consistently good, so I’d say it’s a tie!

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).