Thomas County Central High School CTAE student Hunter Brogren finished second in the SkillsUSA Georgia welding competition held March 10 in Atlanta. He competed against 13 other high school students from across the state. 

"Hunter is driven and motivated to be the best,” TCCHS welding instructor Travis Barrett said. “Students like Hunter make teaching easy. I look forward to seeing where welding takes Hunter."

Judges scored contestants’ welds on various criteria. The four-hour contest required that Brogregn read blueprints for three separate projects, which gave him the exact measurements and type of welding process he could use. Each project had different welding processes. Brogren used SMAW (Stick), GMAW (Mig), and GTAW (TIG). He also had the opportunity to use an oxy-fuel cutting torch during the competition.