Going to college is not an easy decision for anyone. There are a million things to consider. There is cost, location, campus size, enrollment numbers and many other factors to think about.
As hard as that decision might be for a recent high school graduate, imagine making that decision at the age of 45. That is exactly the decision Ardmore resident Willie Thompson was faced with after spending nearly two decades in the welding industry.
“I started in welding back in 1989,” Thompson said. “I welded for several companies and I began to develop bronchitis. The welding also began to have an impact on my eye prescription. Then I went to work for a company that I stayed with for a while. I got into a supervisor’s position and I started running the fabrication and the welding department.”
Things were going pretty well for Thompson. Though he was developing some medical complications, he had a solid career with good pay. Then disaster struck.
“While I was working for that company, I had a bad accident,” Thompson said. “I lost a finger and ended up having nine surgeries on my hands. I was in my 40s and I knew my welding career was not going to last too much longer after that.”
Thompson’s daughter was in high school at the time and he decided it might be time to start thinking about another career.
“I looked at truck driving, and I just couldn’t be a nurse and I didn’t really want to drive long distances,” Thompson said. “I really wanted to get into a career that would be versatile. So I found out about a school called Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Tulsa. I went up and took a tour and I was amazed at how many students were there. I talked to the representatives and I ran across their Non-Destructive Testing and Quality Control program. Non-Destructive testing was perfect for me because it relates to welding a lot, but it also relates to many other fields.”
Once he toured Spartan, Thompson thought it was going to be too much academically.
“I was 45 years old, and relearning all the mathematics and taking college physics sounded overwhelming,” he said.
So Thompson came back to Ardmore and decided to take courses at Ardmore Higher Education Center.
“I took some basics and realized that you can teach old dogs new tricks,” he said. “I realized that all mathematics are based on following principles. I ended up doing pretty well in my classes at AHEC and it really gave me the confidence to take the next step.”
That next step for Thompson meant some major changes for him and his family.
“I decided I had to take a jump of faith,” he said. “I talked it over with my family and I left them and relocated to Tulsa to enroll at Spartan. I have to admit it was rough. But after I got there I was completely impressed. I had amazing professors that were absolute geniuses. They worked with me and made sure I was learning what I needed to learn.”
Thompson enrolled in the Non-Destructive Testing and Quality Control program. He is now six months from earning his associate degree and he said he has already been offered positions at several companies.
Non-destructive testing is far less intensive and physically grueling than welding. Testers basically use radiology, ultrasound or magnetic particles to test welds in pipe and other metals.
“When you look at the outside of a weld, it can look like the most perfect weld in the world,” Thompson said. “But unless you can see through it to the inside, there is no way to know if it is good or not. That’s what non-destructive testing allows us to do.”
The testing covers several areas. The method tests welds in everything from fire truck ladders to street light rails to rocket and jet engines to railroad tracks.
“There are NDT jobs in welding companies obviously, but also in refineries, highway departments, the defense department and archeology,” Thompson said. “It really covers jobs and industries all over the world.”
Now Thompson hopes to use this technology to one day open a business here in Ardmore to do this kind of testing in this area.
With graduation only six months away, Thompson said the hard part is over. He credits his wife, Dellfene Hooks, and daughter, Mylaaka Hooks with giving him the support he needed to make it this far.
“My daughter and my wife are amazing people,” Thompson said. “A lot of times it was rough being away. Giving up a job and going to school obviously has a major effect on your income. It has been a real challenge. But every time I wanted to pull out and go home, my daughter and wife would always tell me no, that this was going to help the family. So my family has been incredible.”
Thompson now wants to let others know that they have options.
“My goal is to let people know that you don’t have to be a genius to do this,” he said. “If I can do it and make good grades, anybody can do it. I am trying to tell older men and women that they don’t have to stay stuck in a dead-end job. They can go back to school and do whatever they want. If I can do it, you can do it. I want to encourage others to take that leap of faith.”
Micah Groves, 221-6542
micah.groves@ardmoreite.com
