ROANOKE, Va. – Virginia Western Community College is making room for more learning opportunities with the recent expansion of the Botetourt Center at Greenfield.
The expansion will specifically benefit welding students, who previously received instruction in modular classrooms for about three years.
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The welding program has finished its first semester at the new 8,900-square-foot facility, which is comprised of four spacious classrooms in a building next to the main center and the program’s welding lab.
Many faculty members are pleased with the new space.
“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity right here,” said Gary Young, the faculty member who leads the Welding and Metal Processing Career Studies Certificate program.
The program is for students who are seeking a career in arc, gas, MIG and TIG welding as well as metal fabrication.
“Any of our hands-on classes are restricted to 14 students per section,” Young said. “But say we have a metallurgy class – we can bounce that up on to 28. Or blueprint reading class – that’s mainly a lecture class, so we can expand those numbers, and these classrooms can handle it.” The facility also has space for commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning instruction.
The college believes the facility will give instructors more flexibility and enable multimedia instruction.