Landen Connolly
Landen, what were you up to before coming here?
Before this, I was doing a lot of concrete and carpentry work for a private contractor. I worked there for about two years after high school, and it was a really good experience. I actually feel like that’s where I got my work ethic from, but I also knew that I wanted to take a different path for the future. I wanted to go to school, have something in my pocket. Like Jason has said, something like this can’t be taken away once you have it. At that point, I signed right up.
Why welding?
My father’s a welder, and my brother and sister – she’s a Boilermaker – so it was definitely a family thing to get into. I tried it in high school too, so I already knew I really liked it and I was decent at it. I just decided to stick with something I was good at and go for it. I was good at concrete and carpentry too, but I felt like I needed something with more future opportunities to shoot for – and welding definitely has more opportunities like that.
What made you choose Ready Arc?
I heard this was the best place for welding. I’ve had friends come here and they’ve said nothing but good things. Actually, I’ve never heard anybody have a bad thing to say about Ready Arc. And when I came here, they upheld those expectations. It was amazing, honestly. I’m very glad I chose to come here versus other programs.
So, how were your six months with us?
It was actually fun. I really couldn’t put it any other way. I learned a ton, and we had a great class to go through the program with. The teachers are hilarious, they truly are good people they gave us a lot of opportunities and helped us as we made our way through the course. I have nothing bad to say. It was awesome. Great class, great teachers, and I’d do it all again if I had to, for sure.
You made it to graduation day. What’s next?
I’m hoping to go straight to work, I’d like to go the boilermaker route. I’m going to try to play my cards right and see what opportunities are out there. My brother works out of a nuclear plant in Toronto, so that’s probably where I’d like to find myself within the next little bit. I’m hoping to just let it all play out the way it should!