Gillette College welding student in the running to represent U.S

Press Release – Colby Uran, a second-year Gillette College student majoring in Welding Technology, is in the running to represent the U.S. at the 2019 WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia. Uran, from Casper, Wyoming, won 12^th place in Individual Welding at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in July, making him eligible to compete in the quadruple elimination process.

He and the 25 other students selected to compete each submitted welding projects to the American Welding Society in early September. Experts will review the projects over the next several weeks and select six students to compete at the 2018 AWS Weld-Off, Dec. 1 through Dec. 9, 2018 in Huntsville, Alabama. Uran will find out if he has been selected to advance to the AWS Weld-Off on Oct. 13.

After he graduates from Gillette College, Uran plans to pursue his bachelor’s degree in welding engineering. He is excited to take advantage of this opportunity to expand and refine his skillset.

“It’s a great opportunity to do something I love and get better at all types of welding,” said Uran. “I’ve put in a ton of hours welding to complete this project, so it is helping me advance my skills.”

Following the AWS Weld-Off, the top three competitors will advance to the PreWeld Trials and finally the US Open Weld Trials, where the U.S. representative will be decided. The student chosen to represent the U.S. at WorldSkills will receive a $40,000 four-year scholarship from AWS as well as valuable industry training and other prizes.

Gillette College welding instructor Troy Miller has supported Uran throughout the process.

“My role as an instructor is to help Colby get materials for the project, keep him on track and support him in any way I can,” said Miller. “We are really proud of his hard work and for representing Gillette College so well at the national level.”

For more information about the contest, go to www.aws.org or www.worldskills2019.com/en/.