The SBVC Welding department at San Bernardino Valley College recently unveiled a 9-foot megaphone sculpture to represent the campus theme, “Shout Your Dreams.” This piece of art was created by a group of welding students, led by instructors Joshua Milligan and Bryce Cacho, for the WeldItForward student competition. In 2018, the department submitted an essay detailing their department’s efforts to promote this in-demand career, and as a result, seeing an increase in female students entering the program.

The essay was dedicated to Dan Comisky, an SBVC welding advisor who passed away earlier in the year. Out of hundreds of submissions from colleges nationwide, SBVC was chosen as one of the six finalists. The program received $6,000 worth of equipment and supplies that was to be used to build the project they would submit for the final phase of the competition. A team of 5 students was determined, which included Dulce Benavides, Alex Diaz, Jasmin Henades, Edgar Ramirez, and Mynor Pablo.

This team chose to create a fabricated metal megaphone to represent the campus’s goal of encouraging students to build, shout, and implement their dreams; they were the highest placing team from California. To commemorate their success, and continue to encourage students to shout their dreams, the team erected a permanent place for the megaphone on the campus courtyard for all to see and shout into.

It was unveiled on Opening Day, following the keynote presentations from SBVC’s executive team encouraging campus staff and faculty to implement their dreams.