News

As a high school student, Sapphire Guzman knew very little about welding. Then she enrolled in welding and precision machining at The Career Academy and a career path was forged with a year of college credits under her belt.

“I had no idea what welding was except for in cartoons,” Guzman said. “I tried welding for a bit as a freshman in high school and loved it. I decided to enroll in The Career Academy after one of their ambassadors explained the welding track to me during my sophomore year.”

The Lincoln Southwest student ended up spending full days at TCA, a partnership between Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College.  She found herself welding from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and just loving it. Guzman’s commitment gave her a significant head start before she enrolled at SCC.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to a four-year institution as I’m not the school type of person,” she explained. “I like working with my hands and SCC offered me that from the start. I also had the opportunity to work in the new Welding Technology Center. It’s a sky’s the limit type of building.”

While Guzman has only been on campus as an SCC student since the Fall of 2024, she made sure her experience was jam packed with everything. She has honed her leadership skills serving on Student Senate on the Lincoln Campus as the activities chair and vice president. She also participates in SkillsUSA competitions and is the vice president of the Lincoln SkillsUSA chapter. In addition, she was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa and is the president of SCC’s American Welding Society’s student chapter. She is not sure how she finds time to do everything but it is all worth it in the long run.

“SkillsUSA has been particularly transformative for me,” Guzman said. “It has helped me see how to start an organization from the ground up. This includes the difficulties and struggles as well as the successes. I believe that is feeding my entrepreneurial side.”

Born in Okinawa, Japan, raised in Tennessee, and moving to Lincoln in 2017, Guzman is not finished at SCC as she has multiple pathways she wants to complete. She will earn her business diploma in the Spring of 2026 and will add the service management A.A.S. to her resume in the Fall 2026 term. From there she wants to use her passion for the trades to cater to the community as a whole. This is all thanks to her start at TCA and SCC.

“SCC has prepared me for my future tremendously,” she explained. “From the teachers who teach us priceless wisdom and share their experiences, I know more about the industry and the options I have. I feel confident knowing I have a community of experienced tradespeople that I can always come back to if needed whether it be five months down the road or five years. There is a place for everyone at SCC. There are wonderful faculty and staff who make it their mission to help their students. Everyone is rooting for you and wants you to succeed.”

Jennifer Snyder
Communications Specialist
402-323-3393
jsnyder@southeast.edu