ALBANY, Ore. — Marty Medina of Heppner, Ore., plays high school football, basketball and baseball, so he’s familiar with pressure.

Still, the 16-year-old junior acknowledged he felt a bit nervous — but also confident in his skills — before the Youth Welding Competition at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Ore., on Nov. 15.

The stakes are far higher with welding for his summer job at McElligott Farms, where he also lives.

“When equipment breaks, I go back and fix it,” Medina said.

The Youth Welding Competition was held for the second year at LBCC in conjunction with the Willamette Valley Ag Expo.

The competition included about 65 participants from 11 high schools around the state.

La Pine High School was scheduled to attend, but a school bus crashed Wednesday morning in Central Oregon on the way to LBCC. Three students were injured.

Heppner High School brought six students to the event, leaving at 3:15 a.m. to make the trek from Eastern Oregon, said teacher Beth Dickenson.

Last year, the competition had about 30 teens.

“We planned it and made it happen within a month-and-a-half. It was a pretty tight time frame,” said Cameren Moran, LBCC welding faculty instructor.

Eagle Point High School was the overall winner this year, and students earned a new welder for their school. Other top schools won welding gear.

Welding is a critical skill for agricultural workers, and having an in-house mechanic that can weld is far less expensive than hiring a contractor, Moran said.

Full-time welders are in high demand as well, and skilled workers can choose where they want to work, he added.

Heppner High School freshmen Quaid Jensen and William Lehn both hope to move to Alaska and find pipeline jobs when they get older. “You can make good money,” Jensen said.

First, they’ll need more practice. Jensen and Lehn were critical of their own work during the competition.

“I put terrible beads down,” said Lehn, who was part of the stick welding contest. He’s hoping to do better next year.

Medina wasn’t sure if he wanted to become a welder, electrician or plumber. He’s entering various competitions to gain experience and see which field he prefers.

Dickenson said that regardless of what career her ag students pursue, welding lessons translate. The activity teaches teens perseverance, and to focus, obey safety rules and follow instructions in the correct order.

“The skills they are learning are incredible,” Dickenson added.

About the Ag ExpoThe Willamette Valley Ag Expo, held at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany, Ore., typically attracts between 3,000 to 4,000 attendees during its three-day run.

Youth Ag Day on Nov. 15 brought hundreds of teens from nearly 30 high schools to the event.

The Ag Expo, now in its 23rd year, had 164 exhibitors, a few more than the previous year. “That’s pretty much a full show,” said Jill Ingalls, manager of the Willamette Valley Ag Association.

The association holds the event, and proceeds go to scholarships for college students majoring in agricultural-related subjects. Every year, about $7,000 to $10,000 in scholarships are awarded, as well as gifts to agricultural organizations, Ingalls said.

Oregon offers welding in career technical education courses at 38 high schools and nine community colleges, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Welding is provided in programs including agriculture, manufacturing, construction technology, engineering technology and transportation technology.

CTE classes help students stay engaged in school, wrote Peter Rudy, department public affairs specialist, in an email.

High school students in CTE programs have graduation rates of 93%, well above the state average, and earn higher incomes six years after graduating, Rudy added.

They also are just as likely to attend college as those who don’t engage in CTE.

In the 2021-22 school year, nearly 167,000 Oregon high school students participated in a CTE program, according to state figures.

Oregon’s CTE programs have grown thanks to the passage of Measure 98, approved by voters in 2016.