— Photo by Mike McCagg of BOCES

Sydni Anderson, a Berne-Knox-Westerlo senior, is among 60 students in the Capital Region BOCES welding program who are currently learning Gas Tungsten Arc Welding through Google classroom and Lincoln U/LINC virtual learning. “My father came here for welding when he was in school and I just tried it with him one day and I fell in love with it,” said Anderson. Fellow BKW senior Brittany Celebucki said she knows first-hand the value of learning a trade like welding. “My sister is in college and it costs so much. …The welding program (at Capital Region BOCES) allows you to learn the skills you need for a good career without going to college and taking on all of that debt,” she said.