Three Welding Engineering Technology students at the Guelph campus of Conestoga College are recipients of R.M. Gooderham Bursaries, presented by the Gooderham Centre for Industrial Learning on behalf of the sponsor, the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB).
Each award consists of a certificate of excellence and a $2,000 bursary. Criteria for the award include achievement of academic excellence in welding-related studies, production of a 1,000 word essay on a topic related to the welding trade and clear demonstration of a desire to pursue a career in the welding fabricating industry. Official presentation of the Gooderham Bursaries will take place in Toronto on April 15.
Only ten Gooderham Bursaries are being given this year, so the achievement of three winners being from one institution is impressive. The only other institution to have multiple winners is Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
The Conestoga winners are Curtis Brown of Paris, Murray Geerlinks of Moorefield and Mike Willman of Belleville. All three are in the third and final year of the diploma-level Welding Engineering Technology program at Conestoga's Guelph campus. Welding Engineering Technology focuses on knowledge and application of welding theory and processes, welding design and quality assurance, metallurgical aspects of welding, and computer-aided design and applications, including robotic welding.
Brown is a 1999 graduate of Paris District High School, Geerlinks graduated in 1985 from Norwell District Secondary School, and Willman is a 1998 graduate of Quinte Secondary School. Brown still resides in Paris; Geerlinks and Willman now reside in Guelph.
The R.M. Gooderham Bursary program began in the 1970s and is named in
honour of R.M. Gooderham, first General Manager of the CWB. The CWB has
a national corporate membership of more than 2,500 companies, and the
Bureau is active in three main areas: certification of companies under
the CSA welding codes, performance of an ISO 9000 quality system registrarial
function for member companies and operation of the Gooderham Centre for
Industrial Learning, based in Mississauga.
CONTACT: Karsten Madsen, 519-824-9390, ext. 161, kmadsen@conestogac.on.ca