"I think my favorite class was Metal Casting. It opened up a whole new world to me - the world of how to plan to create a useful object - say, a propeller - and then actually carry it out. I loved planning the molds, planning the molten metal feed points, the split line, the right alloy for the job, the melt temperature, the smell of the lab, the satisfaction of opening that mold and seeing a real, live propeller that I had personally made.

It's true that the job I am applying for at The Company is as a welding quality engineer, but the casting class helped me understand the behavior of molten metals, and what kinds of defects can occur when you turn solid metal into liquid for any reason. The foundation my casting class gave me is actually pretty relevant to welding. You plan your piece, you weld it with the right technique, and you inspect it to make sure that there are no hidden defects. It's not just your own pride that you are protecting with good quality. It can be critical to product safety."