Welding Program Helps Veterans Find a New Mission
Forged by Valor, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Rochester, NY, is offering an 800-hour welding education program that is operated by two veterans who understand the struggles firsthand.
“Under the hood, you don’t see anything but the glow of the arc,” says Scott Quick, co-founder of Forged by Valor. A sergeant with the 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the U.S. Army’s most elite special operations units, Quick did more “crazy stuff” than he cares to remember. Fortunately, he found welding after active duty service. “If somebody came in to annoy me or micromanage me, I’d just put my hood on, start welding and then they didn’t exist. I was by myself, but I was learning.”
Ben Corke, a corporal in the Marine Corps, served as an aviation ordinance technician working on weapons systems for F/A-18 Hornets. After discharge, he earned a philosophy degree, contemplated a PhD but realized no career path would let him earn a living. When he connected with another veteran who was going to welding school, he realized it fit well with his mechanical background, as it provided a combination of understanding a process and having a skill to make things.
“Veterans always have that aspect of knowing they served, and welding feels like a continuation of being able to support ‘Made in America’ again,” says Corke. “Another thing that appealed to me was that the welding world is its own little community. Our class was a tight-knit group that started as strangers and then became friends.”
Future Leaders Wanted
Forged by Valor has been approved for a grant to support 24 veterans over two years. They are also working with local organizations to secure funds for a potential allocation toward financial stipends for living expenses. In addition, they are currently working with the New York Department of Education and VA State Approving Agency to create a program that allows GI Benefits, as there is no school in the area that has this opportunity.
The school offers a rolling enrollment, a continuous process of acceptance for future sessions, with the first cohort starting in January of 2026.
Graduates of the Forged by Valor program will gain the skills necessary for a career in welding.
This includes passing welding certification tests and training on the type of welding equipment they may find on the job.
Military to Welding Transition
For veterans who are concerned about how they would fit in or adjust to a welding school, Quick openly shares his own story about finding a new purpose.
He spent his early years as a full-time Welder/Fabricator & Mechanic in the New York Army National Guard but volunteered for active duty after 9/11.
“In 2005, I tried out for 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. I served with them and was deployed five times as an Airborne Infantrymen and Ranger Qualified,” says Quick. “My term of service expired in 2009. There’s only so many doors you can kick in before you realize that you should stop risking it.”
Quick joined the Army National Guard in 2010, went to college, but quit three credits shy of an accounting degree. He remained in a bad spot mentally and had physical issues (he was medically retired in 2018). Like many veterans, he bottled up his emotions and tried to go it alone.
Quick took welding courses at Rochester Arc + Flame Center, where he met Corke. The two veterans related to each other. They realized there was a brotherhood in welding, as teams work to solve problems, but they also realized how little training occurred at places of employment.
Since meeting, Corke and Quick have earned Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) credentials from the American Welding Society, which carries the prestige of an MBA in the welding world. Quick instructs full-time at Rochester Arc + Flame Center. Corke is also an instructor and works full-time as a welding engineer at ITT Goulds Pumps.
A New Mission
To increase the impact of their passion, Quick and Corke created Forged by Valor in November of 2024, and Arc + Flame Center supported their mission by donating the space for Forged by Valor to operate in their facility.
Welding and cutting leader ESAB, through its Future Fabricators initiative, equipped Forged by Valor with the essential equipment to teach all welding processes. It donated three Rebel EMP 205ic AC/DC welders. These machines provide outputs for MIG, flux cored, Stick, and TIG welding on all metals, including aluminum, offer a full suite of controls for advanced students and a “smart MIG” function for beginners. ESAB also donated automatic welding helmets, filler metals and cutting equipment.
Having traveled a tough and winding road, Quick and Corke remind veterans that they have earned a right to a new beginning. The school is also partnered with the Veterans Outreach Center to provide further support.