Senior Crockett Lentz is going to miss Columbia Falls High School.

“I had a lot of cool teachers and a lot of friends,” the 18-year-old from Hungry Horse said.

Those cool teachers have given Lentz a leg up on a career. He recently received several difficult stick welding certifications through the school’s industrial arts and metal shop programs.

Certifications in hand, Lentz can walk out into the workforce tomorrow and make a good living as an ironworker, particularly in the oil fields of North Dakota and eastern Montana.

He might start out in that vein, he said, but eventually, he’d like to have his own shop.

“I like fabricating and building stuff,” he said.

He’s already doing custom welding, building bumpers, headache racks and other hard-to-destroy accessories for pickups and other rigs.

He started welding as a freshman in industrial tech.

“It was the first time I ever touched a welder,” he said.

His older brother, Nate, was a welder too, but didn’t achieve all the certifications that Lentz has.

“I kind of wanted to beat him,” Lentz said.

Lentz said a good welder needs a steady hand. To pass the certifications, the welds not only need to hold, but they also can’t crack open when bent.

He also enjoys fixing stuff. He has a 1989 GMC pickup that he just put a rebuilt 350 engine into. The old engine started out in a junkyard. Today, the truck runs well. He learns as he goes along and gets help from friends.

“If I really tear into something, I get the gist of it,” he said.

Junior Nelson, the Hungry Horse Fire Chief, helps him out, he said. The two are good friends and Lentz is also a volunteer fireman.

Lentz’s ultimate rig?

“I’d love to tear into a ‘69 Dodge Charger,” he said.

That was the hot rod in the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. The car was called the General Lee.

“I just love the body of it,” Lentz said.

Lentz’s advice for future welders and mechanics?

“Work your boundaries. Try new things. You never know if you’ll like something or not,” he said.-