I had seen welding being done in videos and television, but at that moment I realized that it was me actually doing it. I felt like it was the coolest thing.
Sparks flew the first time Hallee Tretow held a welding torch.
She was 16, a sophomore at Ozaukee High School. The welding tank was switched on, the nozzle heated up and a hot jet of gas started searing metal.
She was gobsmacked.
“I had seen welding being done in videos and television, but at that moment I realized that it was me actually doing it,” Tretow recalled. “I felt like it was the coolest thing.”
Since then, welding has forged success after success for Tretow. She spent her senior year of high school taking welding courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Mequon Campus through a dual credit program. In 2023, she graduated with a technical diploma from MATC the same day she earned her high school diploma.
She got a full-time job welding at Wisconsin Stamping & Manufacturing, in Germantown, Wisc., received three scholarships from the American Welding Society, and in May, will earn an associate degree in Welding Technology from MATC.
Tretow, who turns 20 in April, will leave college debt-free, with a job and unlimited career possibilities.
“The amount of career opportunities really expands when you get that extra schooling,” Tretow said of her associate degree. “Demand for welders is very high and job security is a big thing for me.
“It’s kind of scary how much debt you can run up going to college. The cost of living is stressful,” she added. “I don’t have a lot of those worries, and I think it gives me a lot more freedom.”
For the most part, Tretow has found that freedom by herself. Since high school, she has been one of the few women, if not the only woman, in her shop classes, MATC courses and her workplace. In 2010, 6.7% of professional welders in the United States were women, according to federal labor statistics. By 2022, the number had increased to 7.7%.
“People have been fine with me,” Tretow said. “I’ve heard all the jokes, and I guess they don’t really bother me. I think you have to have a certain frame of mind to do this. And ever since high school, I always walked my own path.
“My mom has always been very supportive of my studies of welding,” she added. “She always pushes me to take all of the opportunities I am given and to always try my best.”
Tretow attends classes two days a week at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee and West Allis campuses, and works 10 hours a day, from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., three days a week welding parts used to build electrical components and farm machinery.
“I can work in my own headspace,” she said. “You develop a rhythm. I listen to music and do my work. They also are supportive of the fact that I want to try new things and learn as much as I can.”
At MATC, she made the honor roll in the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters. She credited her instructors — Bill Peterson, Darrel Iwanski and Lee Cerveny — for her success.
“They have all helped me so much to continue my education and have all talked with me one-on-one about what I can do to advance my career,” Tretow said. “Hearing about how long they have been in this field and how far it has taken them in life really is special to me as someone who is just starting out.”
Tretow was featured in the January 2025 issue of the AWS Welding Journal. She is a student member of the national welding society and has received three scholarships from the AWS Foundation.
“Being featured in a globally recognized publication is a remarkable achievement and a testament to Hallee’s dedication, hard work and the strong network she has built along the way,” said Peterson, the college’s lead welding instructor. “Her future in the welding industry looks incredibly bright.”
Learn about MATC’s Welding programs
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.