Her freshman year at Mississippi State had not gone as planned, and Holley Thomas needed something to do. Back home in Double Springs, Ala., she decided to try an automotive manufacturing and robotics curriculum at a local community college. The last of the required courses was welding, and she dreaded it. Still, it was a requirement, so she plunged in.
She loved it. While making a weld, she experienced the feeling of peace and concentration described by skiers, golfers and fly-casters, an opportunity to block out the world and focus exclusively on the task at hand.