A Future in Welding: Sequoia Alldun’s Story
Sequoia Alldun recently completed Community College of Philadelphia’s Welding program and is now working in an apprenticeship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Sequoia grew up around welding because her dad was a mechanic, and when she moved to Philadelphia, she figured she’d give the profession a try herself. CCP was a fast and affordable option to get her started.
Now in her apprenticeship, Sequoia feels like CCP prepared her for the different kinds of welding that she has encountered. “I think preparing for the work I'm doing now is quite difficult, but it prepared me with the knowledge of welding for the different jobs that we could have,” Sequoia said. “But the work we did at CCP outside of the classroom in the welding booths was a pretty on-spot training for getting us ready to take the tests and to start welding.”
Sequoia is grateful for the knowledge that she gained at CCP and for the inclusive space she felt it gave her. “Just the culture at CCP was really nice,” Sequoia said. She appreciated that there was so much diversity in her program. “No one in my class had the same experience or background at all,” she said. “We had a teacher, someone just out of high school...a mechanic, a foreman from a shop. Like everyone was from a different field...which was really refreshing.”
Sequoia has about three years left of her apprenticeship at the Navy Yard. Once that is completed, she will be considered a journeyman, which will set her on a path for further upward mobility or shifting to a different industry.
Categories: 60th Anniversary, Student Spotlight
More News
Graduating Student Wins Scribe Mediamaker Award
Lakiysha "Kesha" Tilghman, a graduating Digital Video Production student, originally became interested in audio/visual management through her church. After realizing the church needed support in this area, she stepped up and took responsibility herself. Now, she’s working on her own original documentary project thanks to an award from the Scribe Video Center’s Philadelphia Student Mediamaker Fund which gives qualifying students $1,000 to support the production of a documentary.
Met with Confetti: Dual Enrollment Jules Lee Student Receives Full Ride to Swarthmore
Julian “Jules” Lees decided to dual enroll at Community College of Phialdelphia as a high school student because he was looking for more of an academic challenge. Getting a head start on earning college credits also appealed to Jules, but his biggest priority was broadening the depth of his knowledge. He never expected that all that hard work would eventually lead to the incredible opportunity of free college for his next academic endeavor. This spring, Jules will graduate from high school not only with a diploma, but with an associate degree in Health Care Studies and a full-ride scholarship to Swarthmore College, thanks to QuestBridge, a National College Match program that gives students who excel academically an opportunity to attend one of the nation’s top institutions for free, despite their financial hardship.
From Dual Enrollment to the Ivy League: Mariafernanda Herrera’s Journey
Mariafernanda Herrera is a CCP Dual Enrollment student at Parkway Center City Middle College and will be graduating from both high school and Community College of Philadelphia this spring, before attending Columbia University in the fall. And, she’ll be attending Columbia University on a full-ride scholarship, thanks to her hard work and dedication to her community thus far. Ultimately, Mariafernanda wants to work in a career that will allow her to help and serve as many people as she possibly can.