Donna North High School welcomes new welding shop

DONNA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Donna Independent School District welcomed its newest addition that will benefit the future of welding students.

Students and staff at Donna North High School celebrated the grand opening of the campus' new welding shop.

The new building will serve as a space for students to get career-ready and gain hands-on welding skills.

"I'm excited that we have this new building because there are a lot of projects we could do just being here," said Kevin Lopez, senior at Donna North High School.

Lopez says he's been in the welding program since his second year at Donna North.

During his sophomore year, he recalls the difficulty of learning welding without a facility to practice in.

"We would have less time to weld," Lopez said. "Now, we have a lot more time to spend here."

Lopez plans to complete the welding program with a goal of finding a welding-related job after high school graduation.

The new welding shop features 15 booths that can accomodate up to 30 students at a time.

The shop will eliminate the need for Donna North welding students to travel to the welding building at Donna High School.

"Previously, our students were having to bust to Donna High because we couldn't offer the program here," said Angela Dominguez, Superintendent of Schools at Donna ISD.

Students enrolled in the welding program will have the opportunity to earn up to 29 college credits through South Texas College and graduate with a certification.

"It's so exciting for us to be able to give our students this opportunity at their home school," Dominguez said.