SAN DIEGO— The Welding program at San Diego Continuing Education’s (SDCE’s) Educational Cultural Complex (ECC) received First Place in the float division for their entry “Let Freedom Ring” at the 39th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade. The event was held Sunday, January 14 at the Embarcadero.
This year’s float “Let Freedom Ring” featured a massive die-cut steel sign with 6,000 holes punched through sheet metal plates, a replica of the Liberty Bell and a metal statue of Dr. King welded together with phrases from his iconic I Have a Dream speech.
Isaac Masicampo, an SDCE student in the interactive media career training program created the design for the parade t-shirts, which SDCE students, faculty and staff wore while marching in the parade.
SDCE has participated in the MLK Jr. Parade for the past 12 years alongside the San Diego Community College District Chancellor, Board of Trustees, Police as well as San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar College students and more than 200 faculty, staff and administrators. This year, SDCCD also earned a second place award in the Educational Units category at the parade.
SDCE’s Welding Program is a free, short-term certificate program that helps students gain entry-level employment in the welding industry. Free welding classes take place in the Mountain View community at ECC, located just a few miles away from General Dynamics NASSCO.
San Diego’s annual MLK Jr. Parade is the largest of its kind and this year the parade received 116 float entries, the highest number of participants since its beginnings in 1980.
SDCE has received numerous first place awards over the past 12 years during the float competition.