Ashley Phillips - Mike Rose

Mike Rose Summary
For our reading, I read chapter six, the welder and the foreman. I covered the part of the chapter regarding Lisa. Lisa was a welder, and the chapter starts out by her explaining the beauty of welding. Lisa says, “I think of a flower the same as I do a weld. There’s a certain beauty, an art to it. It’s not just metal joining metal; it’s an art of fusion”. This quote immediately drew my attention because it makes you certain Lisa does not just weld because it’s a job or work, she welds because she finds beauty and enjoyment out of it. When Lisa graduated high school she was unsure of what she wanted to pursue in her future, so she gave welding a try. She started having an interest in welding at the age of 19. Throughout the next few years she studied welding, and ending up landing a job in that profession. At first she would think to herself, I know really know what I’m doing, and would consistently ask other people for help. Once she grasped her own way of welding she became an expert at her art, welding. One of the biggest issues Lisa had with welding was discrimination on the job. We all know welding is seen as a male’s job, which is why Lisa was discriminated against. Men would flat out tell her, “This is a man’s job!” After many years Lisa had become a teachers, and inspired her student’s to want to be just like her.
The best way Lisa described her teaching experiences was comparing it to a signature. She explained, you can have a beautiful signature, and sign something 10 times, and each time that signature will come out differently-but it will still be beautiful at the same time. I found her story very interesting. She’s a woman working her way up in a man’s field, but yet she excelled in this trade better than most men. Lisa’s story is very inspiring, she made her life long career into something she loves, and calls it her art. Lisa didn’t achieve goal because she wanted to prove something; she achieved them because she found a love and beauty in welding.