Faculty Spotlight: Larry Clark, Welding

larry clark

Meet Larry Clark, welding, metal fab, and fabrication technologies program instructor. He has been with the College for 18 years and worked in the welding industry prior.

“The last job I had required me to teach most new hires,” Larry said. “When their business got slow, I thought I would try to give back to my field and show other people how to do what I had learned.”

Just how did he get into the welding field?

“Growing up, my best friend had a welding machine, and I wanted to learn,” Larry said. “In high school my welding instructor expected us to explore, learn, and sell our skills. To this day, he is my biggest career inspiration.”

Larry said while his 18-years at Moraine Park have at times been frustrating, overall they have been rewarding.

“My greatest accomplishment to date is earning the American Welding Society’s Certified Welding Inspector credential,” Larry said.

This is no easy feat. To qualify as a Certified Welding Inspector, you must pass a vision test and have a combination of qualifying education and work experience, with supporting documentation. Oh, and there’s also an exam. More information on what he accomplished can be found here. 

“I’ve worked in a variety of positions throughout my life. Welding in the shipyard in Superior, working at an LP wafer board plant in Hayward, bartending, carpentry work for my dad and a neighbor, some logging, production welding on Western snow plows, making gas and oil tanks in South Milwaukee, and the job shop where I was a welder, machinist, fabricator, foreman, and supervisor. All of these make me uniquely qualified to relate everything we do here to the working world.”

Larry added that this career field is satisfying for those who like to make things, and are up for problem-solving through difficult situations.

“Always give it your best effort at the time. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right.”

Outside of the College, he enjoys hunting, fly-fishing for trout, musky fishing, and the Green Bay Packers.

We think Larry is top-notch! Comment below if you agree.

larry clark

For more information on Moraine Park programs, like welding, visit morainepark.edu.

 

Written by Kristina Haensgen
Marketing | Public Relations | Strategy | Communications | Professional Storyteller