Southeastern Technical College Welding Instructor receives AWS Educator of the Year Award

On March 4, Michael Crumpler was presented the Educator of the Year Award for the Atlanta Section of the American Welding Society (AWS) by Robert Trudelle, Chairman of the Atlanta Section.

Michael Crumpler has been a Welding and Joining Technology instructor at Southeastern Technical College’s Vidalia Campus for the past 24 years.

The Education/Meritorious/Service awards recognize individuals who have made notable contributions to the welding industry. From educators who have advanced welding knowledge to those who have exhibited outstanding service, these awards celebrate dedication, expertise, and the advancement of welding as both an art and a science.

The Section Educator Award is given as a means of recognizing high school, trade school, technical institute, or community college instructors whose teaching activities are considered to have advanced the knowledge of welding students in their respective schools.

“On behalf of AWS Atlanta Section, it is an honor to recognize Mr. Crumpler for his dedicated service to the welding industry. He is now among instructors for the state recognition,” said Mr. Trudelle. “I cover the state, as a volunteer, and our job is to help these instructors in any way that we can. We are working on establishing a student chapter at STC. That would provide, even to high school students, nationwide industry connections.”

Mr. Crumpler’s Dual Enrollment class was in attendance for the presentation of the award.

“It is always an honor to be recognized by peers for your hard work. The American Welding Society has been an integral part of my career for the past 24 years,” stated Crumpler.

Mr. Crumpler’s welding career began right after high school, with his first welding job in Tennessee. Mr. Crumpler has worked for both small companies and large industrial contractors and has traveled the world. He has worked in most of the 50 states in America and some in South America.

While employed in the industry, Mr. Crumpler was a certified boilermaker welder, structural welder, and pipe welder. He earned welding certifications in various welding processes. He also holds professional certifications through the AWS as a Certified Welding Educator (CWE), Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), and Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS).

Mr. Crumpler’s welding biography has been published in a nationally known welding textbook: Welding Principles and Applications 7th Edition, published by Cengage and also in an internationally known welding magazine: The World of Welding, Summer Edition 2011, published by The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.

Mr. Crumpler is an award-winning welding instructor. He was nominated for Instructor of the Year at Southeastern Technical College in 2006, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2023. In 2017 and 2023, he won Instructor of the Year for Southeastern Technical College and placed in the Top Nine Finalists for the State of Georgia both years. He was most recently nominated for the Howard Adkins Memorial Instructor of the Year Award through the American Welding Society’s Atlanta Section.

“Congratulations to our rock star, Michael Crumpler, for being recognized by his peers within his American Society of Welding District. Just further proof of what we, here at STC, already know,” said Teresa Coleman, Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Mr. Crumpler is a graduate of Brewton Parker College, Heart of Georgia Technical College, and The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.

For more information on American Welding Society, visit aws.org.

For more information on Southeastern Technical College, visit www.southeasterntech.edu or call (912) 538-3100 or (478) 289-2200.