SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Students in the San Diego Continuing Education welding class have found their own unique way to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
They're building a scale replica of the Liberty Bell to enter as a float in this year's MLK Day Parade.
"The parade theme, every year, is Let Freedom Ring," says instructor Mike Bradbury. "So you have to come up with something that revolves around Let Freedom Ring."
Recreating the Liberty Bell seemed like a natural fit, as it echos Dr. King's call for liberty and freedom.
"We talked about what that means to all Americans, not just a certain race," says Bradbury. "So they get to learn a lot of different aspects of what the man, Martin Luther King, stood for."
They also learn about project management from a welding perspective. Students say it was a good way to break up the tedium of every day classes.
"This is a real world project," says second semester student Josh Zazueta. "We have a deadline. We have a budget."
"With regular welding, there is problem solving," says student Donasia Brown. "But with this, it's about encountering issues and all of us saying how we're going to solve this together."
The bell itself is quite an undertaking. It required more than 10,000 welding notches and about a mile of wiring to build. Students say they can't wait to see it roll down the road during Sunday's parade.
"It's definitely an honor to work on a project like this," says Brown.
The Parade is from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, and it begins in front of the County Administration Building downtown.
For more information about the parade, or to find out how to watch it live, click here.
