Idaho tech college steps up after fire displaces high school welding students

This past April, a fire at Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho, left welding students without a facility. It didn't take long for an area tech college and other businesses to step up. Image: eastidahonews.com

A fire at a high school in Idaho this past spring displaced many students pursuing a potential career in the skilled trades. They had to be wondering, “What the heck do we do now?”

The blaze at Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho, left many students without an education facility, including those in the welding program. Unlike other parts of the campus, the fire didn’t completely destroy the welding lab, but the electrical and smoke damage rendered the shop unusable. Authorities ruled the cause of the incident was electrical and accidental.

In the end, 27 welding students in the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 were left without a facility to finish the semester. That is until nearby Idaho State University College of Technology heard the news and immediately stepped up to invite the Highland welding students into their facilities.

From there, the Pocatello’s business community rallied around the kids to raise $13,000. Local and national industry members, including Miller Electric and Revco, donated equipment, PPE, filler material, and much more.

On top of that, some of the senior students saw this as an opportunity to get hands-on experience for what it would be like to join ISU College of Technology’s welding program in the fall.

ISU also hosted the Highland prom in a ballroom on their campus.

All of this is a reminder how the skilled trades community is quick to rally around each other. It also reminded me of a Maya Angelou quote: “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”