WVNCC Welding Program Gives Tough As Nails Urban Challenge a Hand
Bob Combs, left, welding instructor at West Virginia Northern Community College, works with Scottie Loughery, a second-year welding student, on one of the metal boxes that will be part of the "Worm Crawl" at the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.
Photo by Derek Redd
Bob Combs, left, welding instructor at West Virginia Northern Community College, works with Scottie Loughery, a second-year welding student, on one of the metal boxes that will be part of the "Worm Crawl" at the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.
Photo by Derek Redd
Bob Combs, left, welding instructor at West Virginia Northern Community College, works with Scottie Loughery, a second-year welding student, on one of the metal boxes that will be part of the "Worm Crawl" at the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.
Photo by Derek Redd
Bob Combs, left, welding instructor at West Virginia Northern Community College, works with Scottie Loughery, a second-year welding student, on one of the metal boxes that will be part of the "Worm Crawl" at the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.
Photo by Derek ReddTrending
When the hundreds of participants in the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan hit the dirt to shimmy through the "Worm Crawl" at Grow Ohio Valley's property, they'll have welding students at West Virginia Northern Community College to thank.
Those students are lending their talents to help the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine. Their handiwork will go toward bolstering the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge, the popular event that begins at noon Sunday, May 28.
Students in WVNCC's welding program are constructing six 10-foot-by-10-foot-by-2-foot metal structures. They'll be placed together on Grow OV's property and have wire strung across the top as the event's "Worm Crawl." There, participants will inch along the ground underneath the wire.
WVNCC welding instructor Bob Combs said the structures take about a day to construct. Parts of each box will be bolted together so they can be dismantled for easy storage. The four legs on each box have spikes welded to the bottom, so they can be hammered into the ground and not move.
Eric Anderson, publisher of the Wetzel Chronicle, Tyler Star News and Green Tab, said the welding program's contribution will do nothing but enhance what already has grown into a standout event during the weekend.
“We are grateful for the assistance from the welding program at West Virginia Northern Community College in constructing an obstacle for our Tough As Nails Urban Challenge event," Anderson said. "It is another fine example of the college’s engagement in the community and we appreciate all their work in helping us create an exciting race event.”
Scottie Loughery, a second-year welding student from Wheeling, said the project is a big help to those in WVNCC's welding program, too. It's a good opportunity to practice what they have learned. It's a chance to weld at unusual angles, which they'll be doing plenty of on the job.
Loughery added that it also serves as a team-building exercise, which will benefit the students when they enter the working world.
"I think special thing is about it as we learn to work together," he said. "We’re all going to do something in a different way, and we all bring something different to it. We’re learning to work with others, and not have any problems when we can see each other’s inputs and outputs and we can really, we really work together."
Registration for the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan, as well as the rest of the events for the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine, can be found at ogdenwellnessweekend.com.