It is not every day that you can say the leader of a group has almost half a century in his field with no signs of stopping. For Sampson Community College, that is exactly what Dale Godbold brings to the table. Godbold is the new lead welding instructor at the college.
“He brings more than forty years to of experience to this program,” says Barney Grady, Coordinator of Building Industrial programs at SCC. “He’s going to be very valuable to us. We have so many trades here that require welding, it’s good for the students to have someone they can lean on, learn from and ask about mistakes maybe he made in the past and it will help them avoid them.”
Godbold, who is originally from Roseboro, has worked in various aspects of welding. He has traveled across the United States and has always found work in the welding field, before deciding to come back home where it all started.
“I graduated from Sampson Community College in 1973,” Godbold points out. “I worked in welding, then moved into construction. I became a pipe welder at a nuclear power plant and worked as an X-ray welder.”
Between the college’s two welding instructors, Godbold and Mark Brown, there is more than 75 years of experience which is invaluable to students heading into the workforce. “I came home when I saw the college had an opening,” says Godbold, who often welds decorations with his young grandson. “This is my home, my roots, my family is here. It has been a great journey. I have made a lot of money in welding and these students can too.”
Grady adds that the demand for welders is such that students can almost guarantee employment once they complete the program or as Godbold puts it, with a laugh, “Welding is what holds the world together.”
For more information about welding at SCC, contact Dale Godbold at [email protected].