One day Deila Ray’s boss said “D, we need you to work in the field today. Are you good with that?”

“Sure thing!” Ray says she replied, “and that’s when everything changed for me.”

By “everything” she means moving from nursing school to an office job in the construction industry, then to working in the field as a firewatch. She was responsible for observing hot work activity for the detection of, and response to, fires during hot work operations like oxy fuel cutting, grinder work, and welding operations.

“It was there in the middle of a North Dakota winter that I saw welding for the first time,” Ray says. “I locked eyes with my future and knew that welding was my calling.”

She worked into a helper/laborer position, learning the ins and outs of the jobsite process while learning to weld during breaks, days off, or “any small amount of down time I may have had,” Ray says. “I asked questions and learned so many things from the incredible coworkers I had.”

Often the only woman on the jobsite, Ray says she “learned from guys who had just graduated from welding school all the way to welders who had been in the industry for 40 years. My school of hard knocks allowed me in the field training from some of the best welders I’ve ever seen.”

Ray transitioned from the “school of hard knocks” to more formal education, earning her American Welding Society D1.1 certification as well as an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX certification is stick and TIG welding. Armed with field experience and certifications, Ray worked throughout the United States – in compressor stations, refineries, food processing, water treatment and wastewater treatment facilities.

One of the proudest moments in her career was early on – the first time she welded together an entire processing system for a $1M heat exchanger holding tank with a 100% pass on all weld testing and pressure testing.

“It was the first time I was the only welder completing the welds. Some of the welds I had to perform with a mirror and/or with my nondominant hand,” Ray explained. “The level of stress was high, but I completed the system on time and with zero repairs.”

Ray’s love of welding is evident when she describes working in the field. “Do I love tig welding or stick welding more?” she muses. “I have my days where I say tig welding because it is truly a form of art. It is meticulous and attention driven for perfection. But then, there is stick welding. Putting in a root weld with 6010 or 8010 then capping it out with a 7018 electrode, getting sprayed by the sparks and spatter, and seeing the slag peel back is what my favorite kind of days entail.”

As a welding instructor at Davis H. Hart Career Center (the first woman to hold that position) for the past three years, Ray shares her passion for and knowledge of welding with the next generation of trades people. Students are introduced to welding safety, blueprint reading, and welding equipment identification and operation. They learn industrial welding techniques including stick, TIG, MIG, and oxy fuel cutting. The welding program is an Accredited Test Facility through the American Welding Society so students, who become members in the Society, have the opportunity to earn AWS Welding Certifications.

Unlike many women in the construction industry, Ray hasn’t been told she can’t “do this kind of work” or doesn’t belong in the industry. “Being a woman has never changed or affected the way I could do my job. The amount of support I have been afforded by the companies I have worked for and the men that I have worked with has been a journey I’d wish for all women.”

As an instructor, she models that journey for the young women, and men, she teaches. “I started my first year with four ladies in the program. This year, we had 13. I know the future generation of women in construction is coming through my program and others alike,” Ray says, emphatically.

She believes that her presence at the Davis H. Hart Career Center has helped these ladies see themselves as a welder or working in the trades. “If they can see her, they can be her” has truly become one of my life mottos,” Ray says.

It was NAWIC that first allowed Ray herself to “see her.”  After traveling for over a decade in the industry with her husband, who is the journeyman pipefitter/fabricator of the duo, the two decided to get off the road and work for themselves. “That was when I started searching for something about women and welding, then women in construction, and that’s when I found NAWIC. I found my local chapter’s Facebook page and immediately sent an email. Within the week, I joined the Central Missouri Chapter. It was the first time I felt like I was in the same place with a group of women who did similar work to me and liked working in the construction industry.” Since then, she has grown through NAWIC by being a member of a committee, running a national committee and learning the roles throughout her chapter – and how to work effectively as part of a team of successful women.

“NAWIC has provided me endless opportunities for growth, character building, and advocating for the next generation of women in construction,” Ray says, adding, “I am constantly seeking education – and the resources offered to me as a member have opened up many doors of networking and friendship along the way.”

Ray is especially proud of the work she has been putting in to be the best leader she can be for her students. She recently graduated from the 2024-2025 NAWIC Leadership Academy. She shared that she received a sponsorship – which she says is “an integral part of leveling up in any industry” – to attend the Leadership Academy. Another step towards her leadership goal was completing her Educators Certification through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This summer, she hopes to attend the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology for an accelerated course to earn her Welding Educators certification as well as her Certified Welding Inspector cert.

In her current role as an educator, this year Ray had what she describes as a “profound realization.”

“The change I am making here is not only with the young ladies in my program, but also with the young men. This is the first time they are learning welding – and it is from a woman. That means, when they go into industry and are on a jobsite with other women, it won’t be anything out of the “ordinary” to see a woman doing this kind of work. The changes that I hope to see for the future generations of our workforce is that it is merit based and not gender based.”

In the meantime, for any women hesitant or thinking about getting into the construction industry, Ray’s advice is to “Take the leap and dive in! If you are interested in any kind of work in construction don’t allow the unknown to hold you back. Reach out to your local career centers, unions, apprenticeship programs, and companies.” She points out that, “more and more companies are hiring and training from the ground up. I am living proof that you can start from the bottom of an industry and continue to level up as long as you put in the work.”

If you know of a NAWIC member that deserves to be recognized as a Best Person for the Job, contact us today!