Orthman helps local student find his "passion"

David Reyes and his family moved to Lexington when he was three years old.  David is now a senior at Lexington High School and has an interesting story as to how he found his passion for welding and how that lead to a position and a future with Orthman Manufacturing.

It all began at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.  David walked the halls of LHS just like any other student, taking a variety of classes, trying to gather the knowledge and self-awareness that will develop into a career choice.  David inadvertently ended up in a first period welding class.  He had no idea what welding was and at first he had no interest and actually attempted to drop the class.  Dropping the class didn’t work out with the counselors, and David stuck with the class.
After a couple weeks and reading up on the skill of welding and the technical aspects of the art, he found a hint of interest in the subject.  David says, "Actually after looking into welding with an open mind, I found it to be very interesting.  There is an art to it."
As the class proceeded and the students actually got a chance to do some welding, David immediately fell in love with the welding trade.  He felt right away that this is something that he really enjoyed.  David says, "It’s just something that I had an immediate knack for and I really felt special because it was something that I just seemed to catch onto faster than the other kids in my class."

All of the sudden David was excited to go to school in the morning.  "I used to lie in bed in the mornings really dreading the thought of going to school. As soon as I got excited about welding, I really enjoyed the thought of going to school. Welding was my first period class and since I knew I was good at it, I went into school early, about 45 minutes before school started and all I did was practice welding," said David.

David’s teacher received a phone call from Lori Owings, HR Director at Orthman Manufacturing.  Orthman needed an "intern" in weld and wondered if any students would qualify.  David was the obvious choice.

David was surprised to be chosen. "I couldn’t believe I was the choice of the class.  So many others in my class had so much more experience than I did."

David started his work/school experience with Orthman in January of 2011. Right away David was taught how to read shop prints, accurately read a tape, machine adjustments, and more. "Orthman taught me with hands on. That’s the way I learn the best. Show me how and then make me do the same thing. I was amazed that I could read prints, and am still getting better every day."

A month later, David’s supervisor Terry offered him a job, and now David works at Orthman everyday from 1:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. He's an unpaid intern until 3:30, but when school gets out, he clocks in and is paid for his work.

David plans on spending his summer honing his welding skills while working for Orthman full-time. He also plans on attending Hasting Community College this fall where he will study welding to become a certified welder. After two years of college David will have earned his degree which will allow him to become a supervisor.

As more and more jobs get outsourced and more and more products get manufactured outside the U.S., let alone outside of central Nebraska, it's nice to hear stories like David's. Raised and educated in Lexington, supported and employed by a Lexington company - David's hard work and effort will help him succeed.

David is the son of Emilia Reyes De Prado and Ramero Prado.