The Imagine America Foundation is honored to partner with postsecondary institutions all across the country in order to support students get the career training they need. These schools offer the hands-on education, skills development, and career preparation that students need to start a new career journey or advance their current path. Since we began offering the IAF scholarship and award programs more than twenty years ago, we have worked with so many wonderful partner schools. Today, it is our honor to spotlight member institutions who have been with us since the beginning in 1999, including Tulsa Welding School.

Tulsa Welding School has been providing training for those seeking work in the welding industry since the school’s founding in 1949. Their Tulsa, Oklahoma, campus eventually expanded to include programming in the electrical field and in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R). In 2001, a second location was opened in Jacksonville, Florida; a third location (Tulsa Welding School & Technology Center) was opened in 2014 in Houston, Texas.

TWS is on a mission to promote their I-CARE values, which stands for integrity, communication, accountability, respect, and excellence. The school provides flexible class schedules, hands-on training with industry-experienced faculty, and mentoring support to help students get the most out of their education. In addition, TWS has been recognized for their support of active duty military and veteran students

Since the Imagine America Foundation started our scholarship and award programs in 1999, thousands of students have received financial support through more than $180 million in tuition discounts nationwide. At Tulsa Welding School alone, more than 2,200 students have enrolled with financial help from IAF’s scholarship, award, and grant programs.

“It’s been a great pleasure to work with Tulsa Welding School over the last two decades. Their support of committed students is an important part of what this industry is about,” says Bob Martin, president and CEO of the Imagine America Foundation.

Welding

It all started when two Tulsa welders sought to meet the demand for skilled tradespeople in the industry. More than 60 years later, students can take their pick of welding programs at TWS: professional welder, welding technology, and welding specialist programs have been developed to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to create a safe and successful career as a welder.

Welding students at TWS can expect to learn about different types of welding, including SMAW, MIG, TIG, and FluxCore. These skills can be used in structural welding, pipe welding, aircraft welding, thin alloy welding, and pipeline welding to support customers or employers in fields like automotive, aerospace, aviation, shipbuilding, construction, manufacturing, and more. TWS also offers programs with an additional concentration in pipefitting, which can allow students to lay out, assemble, install, and repair piping and plumbing fixtures in a variety of industries.

HVAC

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration technology is essential for homes and businesses everywhere—not just for comfort (which is very important!) but also for maintaining safe and productive environments. With TWS’s HVAC programs, available at both their Houston and Jacksonville campuses, students can prepare for careers such as HVAC and refrigeration installation and repair technicians, commercial refrigeration and transportation refrigeration technicians, and low-temperature field technicians. In addition to classroom instruction, the TWS HVAC programs provide hands-on training for HVAC, refrigeration, climate control, and solar energy technology fundamentals.

Electrical

For students attending TWS Jacksonville, they can choose to pursue the electrical applications program, which can prepare students for careers as residential, commercial, industrial, or maintenance electricians—or even as a solar panel installer. The training program includes training for everything from wiring to lighting so that students have the skills to maintain and service electrical systems in a variety of environments and applications.

The Imagine America Foundation continues to be grateful for the partnership we have developed with Tulsa Welding School over the last two decades, and we are honored to stand by the programs and support they provide their students. At the beginning of a new decade, we look forward to many more years of student success together!

For more information about Tulsa Welding School, to schedule a visit to your high school, or to apply for admissions, visit www.weldingschool.com.