Long live the “Welding Queen”

Ten years after former PWT Associate Editor Stephanie Vaughan left to pursue her dream job at Mayo Clinic, she still hasn’t lost her love of welding. Photos courtesy of Don Vaughan.

She was dubbed the “Welding Queen” by co-workers, embraced as a kindred spirit by her readers, and left an indelible legacy in her brief 6½ years on the job. When Stephanie Vaughan took the reins as associate editor of Practical Welding Today in July 2000, she was a young, bright-eyed, energetic 20-something with no prior knowledge of welding and no metal fabrication background.

She embraced the challenge of writing about a complicated industry and accepted the opportunity to serve as a voice for all welders. Her energy was limitless, her smile infectious, and her admiration for the industry and those who represented it was genuine.

Contrary to her in-house nickname, Vaughan in no way considered herself royalty. She did, however, feel at home with welding, not because she was an expert, but because she forged a connection with readers that made her truly a part of them and they a part of her.

Madly in Love With Welding

Then Executive Editor Theresa Houck asked Vaughan during her interview which magazine she’d be most interested in working on. The choices were The FABRICATOR^®, The Tube & Pipe Journal^®, STAMPING Journal^®, and Practical Welding Today, and it was a no-brainer. Vaughan chose welding.

“I thought welding sounded exciting. Not that the others didn’t, but that’s the one that piqued my interest the most. I know I got the best one,” Vaughan explained.

The girl who set her mind on becoming a magazine editor made it happen, and while she was excited for the opportunity, a part of her was concerned about how the industry, particularly the readership, would accept a young woman with no welding background. But she felt an overwhelming need to push away her insecurities, ask questions, learn, and keep an open mind to lend an energetic and enthusiastic voice to the industry.

And that’s exactly what she did. Her first Editor’s Corner, published in the May/June 2001 issue, was titled, “Welding Rocks!”

Her optimism and message of hope came at the right time too. A few months later the world changed drastically when terrorists hijacked several airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field.

“During that time there was so much struggle with layoffs and an economic downturn. When the World Trade Center attacks happened, that event drastically shifted the economy and how people felt about life in general. I really wanted to make people feel like what they do matters,” Vaughan added.

As a result, people opened up to her. She’d attend FABTECH^® and the AWS Welding Show, which at that time were still separate, and absorb all of the information she was given by equipment manufacturers and welders. They, in turn, responded to her genuine curiosity with kindness and patience. It still gives Vaughan the warm fuzzies to this day and helped her, a relative welding outsider, feel like she belonged to something great.

Vaughan is grateful for the opportunities she’s been afforded over the last 10 years and said part of that gratitude goes back to everyone she interacted with in the welding industry.

“Every single story I heard and every single person I talked to about technology, every person who took the time to show me something or teach me something made me feel like I belonged in that industry. That’s why I am still madly in love with welding to this day.”

Not So Random Gratitude

Those that know Vaughan are familiar with her penchant for showing gratitude even for the smallest of things. While reflecting on her time at PWT, she expressed gratitude toward the readership, former co-workers, organizations, and contributors. She recognized the weeklong Hobart Institute of Welding Technology’s Welding for the Nonwelder class as a highlight during her tenure. She received hands-on training in oxyacetylene welding, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). She also got to meet columnist Elmer Swank during her visit.

She counted meeting former and current Arc Welding 101 columnists Marty Rice and Paul Cameron and the friendships that grew from those interactions as highlights as well. But most of all she is grateful for the inspiring people she met and subsequently wrote about. While there are too many to list individually, one stands out to her.

“Ken Henry. He was a rodeo welder. He rode broncos and ended up getting gored by one. He had some damage from that which caused him to switch gears. He still loved the rodeo, but riding wasn’t going to be what was good for him moving forward. So he ended up turning his passion into a welding career. That’s just an example of all of the amazing and inspiring stories I heard and got to tell over the years.”

The gratitude typically worked both ways. After the article was published, Henry fabricated a metal rose, gave it to Vaughan, and she’s kept it on her desk at work ever since. She also received a sculpture and a painting from readers, among other things. One of her prized possessions is a welding helmet given to her by her co-workers on her last day at the Daily Chronicle.

While Vaughan loved her job with PWT, the opportunity to work at Mayo Clinic was a dream and too good to pass up. In November 2006, she said goodbye to her welding friends and to Rockford, Ill., and headed to Rochester, Minn., for a job as associate editor at Mayo Clinic. Ten years later she is still happily employed there, working on the clinic’s book projects.

“I couldn’t imagine leaving PWT for anything less than what I’m doing now. I really loved PWT so much, but this opportunity was something that I could not pass up. It was a lifelong dream, and it still is a lifelong dream. I can’t even include enough words to describe how much my life has changed in the most amazing ways since I left PWT. That’s never to knock what I did there; it truly shows what I was able to do and learn there that prepared me for something bigger than I ever thought I could possibly do in my life from a professional standpoint.

“Every day I’m very grateful, and part of that gratitude goes back to each and every person I talked to, worked with, got to meet, and got to do anything with in the welding industry.”

She still loves welding and has taught her co-workers at Mayo Clinic more than they’ll ever need to know about the craft. She still gets giddy when she sees welding take place or when she spots a pretty weld holding together something ordinary in the world.

“I hope people are finding their way, maybe not so much that their dreams are coming true because that might sound too Pollyanna, but just that they’re working on something that brings them meaning and purpose and joy in their life. Gosh, that’s the biggest wish I have for anyone.”

Right back at you, Welding Queen.