Behind the Red Curtain: Students benefit from Tungate’s Saturday welding sessions
All photos by Liliana Castellanos.
Behind the red curtain hides the world of welding teacher Christopher Tungate and his students, whose project work brings them into JHS several Saturdays each month. Tungate demonstrates how to cut metal during Saturday Shop. A JHS graduate, Tungate said he always wanted to be a teacher and help others. He chose to return to JHS “to help students, to help anyone that wanted to learn about welding.”Tungate assists sophomore Aaron Henderson, as sophomore Noah Krausen also works on his project. Tungate offers Saturday Shop so that welding students can catch up or work ahead on class projects. Families are also able to stop by the shop to visit. Tungate and junior Jonathan Garcia work collaboratively on a project during Saturday Shop. Tungate uses the extra weekend time to help his welders on a one-on-one basis. Tungate and Garcia continue their project work. Students are encouraged to ask questions as Tungate assists them. Junior Christopher Torres works on his project, showing Garcia how to do a weld. Both students are safety equipment, which is required in the shop area. Torres preps his project. Behind the red curtain, senior Angel Blas demonstrates Tungate’s insistence on safety equipment, which includes close toed shoes with the helmet down and gloves at all times during the welding process. Long-sleeved shirts and jeans are also required, and hair must be pulled back out of the face if long. Tungate also requires the area to be clean at all times.
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