Forged by Valor program now accepting veteran applicants for 2026 classes
This Veteran’s Day, if you know of a veteran who is struggling to find a purpose or a rewarding career, let them know that welding provides the brotherhood, solace and new purpose that so many veterans seek. Forged by Valor, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Rochester, NY, offers 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.
“We are now evaluating applicants for the first cohort of six people,” says Quick. “We only want the best. This means students that are going to put all their effort into this program, which runs 9-5, five days a week for about 20 to 22 weeks. The sooner a veteran fills in an application, the sooner we can have an intro conversation.”
“Good candidates are veterans in their late 20s to 40s that work a dead-end retail or food service job or are just not happy,” adds Corke. “They want a step-up in life, but they can’t quit their job because then they don’t have any income.”
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.
“All my trauma finally blew up,” he says. “A random officer in the Pentagon told me to put my pride in my pocket, think of myself and my family and seek help. I drove to the Veterans Outreach Center, walked in the door and asked, ‘Can I talk to somebody?’ That set me on the path to where I am today.”
Specifically, the path led Quick to take 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.
“Going to a formal school, I learned the science behind what I was doing and the welding procedures I followed,” says Quick. “I’d take information back to the National Guard and say, ‘Guys, we’ve been doing this wrong. This is the proper way of doing it.’ Welding school helped me grow professionally and personally.”
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.
“It’s great just being able to pass down the knowledge that we have, just like in the service where you’re not going to learn anything unless the guys ahead of you teach you properly,” says Quick. “We’re passing it down in our programs based off of what Ben and I went through years ago.”
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.
“Our goal isn’t to train someone to just weld,” says Corke. “We want to create future leaders in the welding industry because we know the demand that’s out there right now. We take a proactive approach and want to create welders that can become welding leads and supervisors.”
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.
“When I went to welding school, it was the first time in five years where I felt like I belonged to something,” says Quick. “If you attend Forged by Valor, it may feel like you’re back in basic training. You will be challenged, but you will be guided through a defined curriculum. At the end, you’ll have the skills for a rewarding civilian career and a new mission in life.”
