Mingus Union High School senior and Cottonwood native Tuff Morgan recently took first place at both the regional and state levels of the SkillsUSA welding competition and will be competing in the national championship.
Morgan has taken all four years of the welding program at Mingus and currently works as a welder at Southwest Tank and Steel in Camp Verde to expand his knowledge and skills.
Morgan started welding when he was 9 years old. His father, Rob Morgan, is also a welder and runs Whiskey Time Fabrications, which reuses and up-cycles leftover metal into lamps, furniture, sculptures and other creative and functional items.
Morgan recalled watching his father build tables out of old car parts lying around the shop. He began by helping his father on smaller projects, such as custom stools for a firepit, and developed his own approach from there.
“You get a good idea in your head and start trying to see where it takes you,” Morgan said. “My dad really helped me be creative about it.”
Morgan has done many jobs around town, such as gates, fences and signs, including the sign over the front door of The Krow sports bar.
The regional SkillsUSA competition for welding at the Career and Technical Education Center at Yavapai College was one of Morgan’s first competitions. From there, he participated in the state-level competition in Phoenix on April 11, where he also took first place. State winners go on to the national championship, which will be held in Atlanta, starting Monday, June 19. Morgan’s qualification puts him in the top 50 high school welders in the country.
“I felt confident in my ability to weld,” Morgan said. “I was more nervous about the competition because sometimes people are just better than you and you don’t know it. There’s always a better welder and you’ll see that every day.”
“I’m always looking forward to learning something new every day,” Morgan commented on his current job at Southwest Tank and Steel. “It’s not the same as artwork. It’s an industrial and real-world kind of job. There have been so many things to learn in that department of welding.”
Morgan stressed the importance of trade school and how it will lead to lucrative and steady careers. “I always look at it as a more affordable choice and it will help you in the long run,” Morgan said. “You’ll always be employed.”
Morgan plans to take online college classes to expand his knowledge of business and potentially start a welding company or business of his own someday.
“I’m not sure what I want to build or do but there’s so many options out there and I’m learning so much,” Morgan said. “I just enjoy it. Every day after school I go out there and work and I enjoy every day out there. I learn something new. It’s the highlight of my day, going out there and learning with the guys. They have so much to tell you and you have so much to learn. It’s endless.”
