VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Welding with a Purpose: Empowering Women at Ironwood Studios
Moira Vaughan (Reporter): Inside a barn in the small town of Springwater New York, a skill from the iron age is taught to a new crowd.
Stacey Mrva (Owner of Ironwood Studios): I’ve been welding for 25 years.
Vaughan: After graduating from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in sculpture, Stacey Mrva pursued her dream of welding by opening Ironwood Studios.
Mrva: I got my hands on a welder and just totally fell in love with welding.
Vaughan: It’s not just a place that breaks through metal, but glass ceiling too. Ironworks teaches women and young girls how to weld.
Mrva: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only five point eight percent of welders in 2023 were female, and Stacey is looking to change that.
Mrva: I’ve had about 600 women walk through these barn doors, surrounded by other women that are here to cheer you on while you’re doing something that’s kinda scary to you. You’re not walking into some industrial space with a bunch of guys going, ‘what are you doing here?’, you’re more than welcome to be here.
Vaughan: When you’re sixteen you’re too focused on learning to drive a car, rather than building one. This group of high school sophomores is an engineering team that’s competing this year with the task to build a car, entirely on their own.
Maria Heatwole (student): There’s a lot of scary activities that many young girls can be like ‘oh I don’t wanna do that,’ but you don’t know until you try it!
Vaughan: The girls believe welding will help them build the car’s frame.
Jessica Burnett (Coach of all-girls engineering team): I love seeing girls doing nontraditional things. They’ve always just assumed that something like welding is 100% something they can do.
Mrva: Finding your spark, that’s what we’re about.
Vaughan: Through Mrva’s classes, students like Francine Pelkey found that spark they were missing.
Francine Pelkey (Student): This happened at a time where I was kinda at one of the lowest points in my life. There is something about going there and doing this that would just make me feel good. I never knew I needed welding.
Vaughan: And even after class is over, Stacey hopes that women leave with a new sense of strength and confidence.
Mrva: A lot of time when women pick up a tool, guys are like, be careful and there’s no reason for us to be careful!
Vaughan: From heat to the heart, the bond that welding creates, is unbreakable. Moira Vaughan, NCC News.
SPRINGWATER, N.Y. (NCC News) — Inside a barn in the town of Springwater, New York, a centuries-old skill is taught to a new crowd: welding. After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in sculpting, Stacey Mrva and her husband Tom moved to the Finger Lakes region, opening Ironwood Studios.
“I had friends who wanted to learn to weld,” said Stacey Mrva, owner of Ironwood Studios. “So I thought, why don’t I make a project and see how it goes… and I just fell in love with it.”
It’s not just a place that breaks through metal, but glass barriers too. Ironwood Studios teaches women and young girls of all ages how to weld.
“You’re not walking into some industrial space with a bunch of guys asking, ‘what are you doing here?'” Mrva said. “You’re more than welcome to be here.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 5.8% of welders in 2023 were female.
Ironwood Studios is looking to increase that statistic, one woman at a time. Since opening, more than 600 women ranging from ages 8 to 83 have walked through the red barn doors.
“Being surrounded by other women that are supporting you and cheering you on while you’re doing something scary, how amazing is that?” said Mrva.
Ironwood’s motto is “Finding your Spark.” To Francine Pelkey, welding was the thing that saved her.
“I was going through one of the lowest points in my life,” said Francine Pelkey, a student at Ironwood Studios. “It became my happy place, I never knew how much I needed welding in my life.”
Pelkey ended up quitting her full-time job, to pursue a new career in welding and attend welding school.
A group of high school sophomores that are part of an all-girls engineering team, walked into Ironwood Studios with a project: To build a car, entirely on their own.
“I love seeing girls do untraditional things,” said Jessica Burnett, the team’s coach. “These girls have always just assumed that something like welding is something they can do.”
The girls believe that by learning to weld, they will be able to build the frame of the car.
“There’s a lot of scary activities that many young girls can be like, ‘oh I don’t wanna do that’ but you don’t know until you try it,” said Maria Heatwole, a student engineer.
Even after class is over, Stacey hopes that all women leave with a newfound sense of strength and confidence.
“A lot of times when women pick up a tool men will go ‘be careful!’ but there’s no reason for us to be careful,” Mrva said.
From heat to the heart, the bond that welding creates is unbreakable.
Rosie the Riveter Poster hangs beside welding machines to serve as encouragement. Photo taken by Moira Vaughan