SPC alumna continues welding passion at SpaceX

LEVELLAND – When Harley Beseda was in South Plains College’s welding program, working at a space technology company was not a path she had in mind. Soon after graduating from the college in Fall 2024, her education led her to SpaceX.

Beseda has had multiple welding jobs from building cotton gin machinery to working on smaller projects. However, those jobs do not compare to her welder position at SpaceX.

“This is a completely different caliber of job,” the Whiteface native said.

Beseda’s journey at SpaceX started when she connected with a former SPC welding instructor, Kade Keeth, in the college’s program. In November 2024, Keeth told her about job prospects at the SpaceX facility in Brownsville.

Keeth pursued a position at SpaceX and encouraged Beseda to apply for a spot at the company. After taking a welding test at the facility and learning Keeth accepted a welder position, Beseda gave the job a shot.

“The fact that this could be on my résumé alone is really what sold it for me,” she said regarding her decision to work at SpaceX.

At SpaceX, Beseda said she and her team work on spaceship boosters. Her short-term goal is to gain valuable experience in this area and work with different teams someday.

“I’d like to learn as much as I can and try new things if given the opportunity,” she said.

From working on new machinery to managing new responsibilities, Beseda said the job has been challenging. However, she said her education prepared her to overcome any obstacle in welding.

“Going to a school like SPC and attending its welding program has prepared me for the industry,” she said.

Based on conversations with welding professionals who attended other schools and programs, Beseda said certain welding schools do not cover as much material as SPC. She said some schools do not teach tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding or blueprint reading.

“[SPC] definitely opens a whole lot more doors in the job world because [TIG] is not a welding process that any welder can do,” she said. “Most welders don’t get the hang of it because they don’t spend a lot of time on it.”

SPC was not Beseda’s first step after high school. After briefly attending the University of North Texas, she decided college was not right for her, but her m

indset changed with the help of an old mentor.

“I really owe my career to my high school shop teacher, Jeff Brazil,” she said. “He pushed me to try welding in high school shop class.”

Even before attending UNT, Beseda said Brazil encouraged her to try SPC’s welding program, which she started in Spring 2023.

“He was pretty adamant about having me,” she said regarding Brazil’s encouragement to practice welding in high school. “To this day, I owe my career to him because I would not be where I am without him pushing me to do a welding project in class.”

When she was a student in Whiteface, Beseda completed dual credit through SPC. She said she realized SPC’s prominence in the town, as many of her peers also did dual credit or made plans to attend the college.

“With a school like SPC, I know all the instructors actually value what we learn and what we are taught,” she said regarding how the college prepared her for SpaceX. “Since SPC’s welding program is well-known in the surrounding areas, places call them all the time and ask for more students who are ready to work.”

 

Welding Technology

South Plains College’s welding technology program at the Levelland campus and the Lubbock and Plainview Centers is designed to provide students with the fundamental skills and technical knowledge used in today’s welding and metal fabrication industries. The program emphasizes hands-on training using industry-standard welding equipment. The program offers a one-year basic welding processes certificate, a two-year advanced welding processes certificate and an associate degree. Students enrolled in the full-time program spend two hours a week in the classroom learning welding theory and 28 hours a week in the lab applying the classroom knowledge to hands-on projects.

The program is a participating organization in the American Welding Society’s “S.E.N.S.E.” program, “Schools Excelling through National Skill Standards.” This program allows students to become certified as an AWS Entry Level Welder and AWS Level II – Advanced Welder. This nationally recognized program consists of written and hands-on tests of the student’s knowledge and skill.  Learn more about our welding program