Ryan Fincher
Age 21
Hometown: Cedartown, Ga.
Representing the United States at WorldSkills in Welding
Ryan Fincher’s love for welding sparked when he noticed an older friend was training and competing in high school “I fell in love with welding the moment I struck an arc,” he said. I’ve always been competitive, so I dove right in to prove I could be the best.”
In preparation for the competition, Ryan is planning for the mental and physical demands by practicing and timing each aspect of welding, so he can determine the areas where he should spend more time. He has competed at the SkillsUSA Championships four times, twice in welding and twice in welding fabrication.
“Practice every chance you get and practice to be perfect. If you run a great weld, that is good, but then find ways to make it better and then do it again. There is always a better way of doing things and nothing is ever perfect.”
After WorldSkills, Ryan plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering, as well as a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) certification. His dream is to own his own commercial welding company and help other welders get certified.
Quotables
On competing in the WorldSkills competition:
“It is a huge honor to represent the United States at WorldSkills and I need to push myself to be the best I can be. I am striving to represent our nation with the utmost pride, as the WorldSkills USA team will be the face of America in Kazan”
Advice for others:
In anything you do in life, there will always be room for improvement, so push yourself every day to be better each day.”
On SkillsUSA’s role:
“I have been involved with SkillsUSA since 2014 when I first competed at the national level in welding fabrication. I then went on to compete nationally in 2015 in welding, 2016 in welding fabrication and in 2017 in welding. In 2017, and again in 2019, I competed in pre-trials to qualify me to compete at WorldSkills. Competitions pushed me to never settle for just good enough, but to be the best I can be.”
