Sneed was a hard-headed kid but learned welding in his 20s. He said it changed everything.

When Welding Instructor Mark Sneed started at Whitney M. Young, he entered into a D-Grade program.The plaques on the wall in the welding classroom, which celebrate welding as one of the strongest trades on-center, indicate that’s no longer the case.Sneed has been at Whitney for almost 20 years now, and during that time, he helped elevate the welding program to become one of the best in the country.“For eight years in a row, we were the number-one trade on-center. We have a reputation out in the workforce right now and in Job Corps about teaching really good welding,” he said. “Last time I checked, there were sixty-three Job Corps that taught welding. At one time, we were number three.”Sneed was a hard-headed kid but learned welding in his 20s. He said it changed everything.“It helped turn my life around,” he said.So when he heard about a welding instructor position opening at Whitney, he jumped on it.“I thought that might be a way to give back to the people who are growing up, to give them a decent living,” he said.And by any measure, he has. He hears back from students all the time. And they thank him for their successes and growth.“They’ve got a house and a car and kids, they’re still welding and they’re successful,” he said. “A lot of times, the students that leave here don’t realize the gift that you gave them until they go out and do it.”