Lauren Songer became a welder through the Wor-Wic EARN Grant Welding program.
In the summer of 2025, Lauren Songer applied for a free welding program funded by the EARN Maryland Grant Program. After a successful interview, she was thrilled to be chosen for the class.
Lauren attended the program from August through December. By the time she graduated, she had earned eight official welding certifications in several different styles, including:
- SMAW (Stick welding)
- FCAW (Flux-core welding)
- GMAW (MIG welding)
- GTAW (TIG welding)
Today, Lauren works as a welder at First State Fabrication and loves her career. She says her training at Wor-Wic prepared her for everything. She didn’t just learn how to weld, she also learned soft skills like professional behavior and hard skills like using a tape measure and solving technical problems.
The EARN grant was a huge help because it covered the costs of the 19-week program. This allowed Lauren to focus on her classes every weekday morning, which eventually helped her land her current job.
Why This Program Matters
This 372-hour course is so good that local experts call it the gold standard. Steve McGee, the president of Chesapeake Shipbuilding, is a big fan of the graduates.
“Simply put, graduates of this program have the skills and work ethic we are looking for,” McGee said. “They do better work than others and are very valuable employees.”