As part of National Welding Month in April, ESAB awarded $5,000 to support welding programs at Princeton High School and Lovelady High School, part of the Princeton Independent School District, through its ESAB Future Fabricators Charlie Monschke Welding Education Grant. ESAB, a world leader in fabrication technology, also surprised the school with an equipment donation with a combined retail value of more than $8,000. The award and gifts were presented during a tour of ESAB’s Denton facility.

“We only have a limited number of working welding machines, so this grant will help us get more students under the hood instead of waiting for booth time,” said Pete Salazar, the welding instructor for Princeton ISD. “We work hard to prepare these kids for careers in the trades. The grant means a lot to our program. We truly appreciate ESAB’s support and everything they do for welding education.”

Dedication to Education

“The annual Charlie Monschke Education Grant, along with ESAB’s Future Fabricators program, will carry forward Charlie’s enduring legacy by investing in the next generation of skilled welders,” said Purushothama “Purushi” Doddanna, senior director of NAM Equipment Operations at ESAB Denton.

ESAB started the grant in 2024 to honor Charlie Monschke’s memory by supporting high school welding programs in Denton and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Monschke was a manager of advanced mechanical engineering at ESAB’s Denton facility for years and passionately supported high school welding programs before his death in 2023. He began working at what was then Victor Equipment Co. in 1966. ESAB acquired the Victor brand in 2014. Today, the 436,000-square-foot Denton facility serves as one of ESAB’s flagship manufacturing, research and North American distribution locations.

ESAB donated equipment including a Rogue™ EMP 210 PRO multiprocess MIG/Stick/TIG welder, two Rogue EM 125 MIG welders, a Thermal Dynamics® Cutmaster® manual plasma cutter, a Victor® Journeyman EDGE 2.0 oxyacetylene outfit, PPE including five Savage A50 LUX automatic helmets and a carton of ESAB 7018-1 Prime stick electrodes. The equipment is commonly used in light fabrication, construction, HVAC and sheet metal work, farm and ranch applications, maintenance, automotive, hobby work and school settings, giving students the opportunity to learn with real-world equipment.

For more information, visit esab.com.