At 11 years old, Cooper Prince already knows the sound of hard work. It sounds like the steady crackle of his welding machine or boots hitting the ground in step during drill. Those sounds not only shape his hobbies, but his future.

From welding in a barn to earning rank in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Cooper, a Chickasaw citizen from Marietta, Oklahoma, is building skills, discipline and leadership at a very young age.

Cooper’s introduction to welding began at only 4 years old, watching his grandfather, Kevin Flanagan, at work. Cooper, a self-proclaimed “thrill enthusiast,” said one memory of his grandfather welding perfectly captures what drew him into the vocation.

“We were making a fence out of pipe, and I was outside of the truck watching him,” Cooper said. “I see him come over, and he picked me up and put me in the truck. The fire trucks started to show up, and I looked back and that’s when I saw the flames.”

A grass fire had erupted from the welding sparks. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the fire department quickly contained the flames. But for Cooper, the rush of excitement from that moment hooked him.

“It’s kind of the thrill of welding — you might catch on fire, you might not,” Cooper said.

Since then, welding has become more than a curiosity for Cooper. It has become his craft, and he’s learned welding is not all “thrill.” It requires patience, determination and a steady hand.

One of his most recent projects was transforming an old backhoe bucket into a wood-burning stove for his grandfather’s shop building — a challenging and time-intensive feat. “Before I could start on anything, I was using a Bauer surface conditioner with a wire wheel attachment to get all of the rust off to get it to its natural state,” Cooper said, referring to the old tractor bucket.

Once the rust was removed, Cooper welded steel plates onto the sides and back of the bucket blade to form the stove body. Because the bucket was open on one end, he sealed it with a cut-to-fit steel plate and cut an opening for a fire door. Cooper then fabricated and placed the fire door on the stove, attached with hinges and a latch so it could be opened and closed easily.

Cooper then welded a short section of pipe to the top to serve as a chimney, allowing smoke to vent. He added a metal grate inside, so air could circulate beneath the fire along with an electric fan to push air through vents he fabricated in the front. After grinding down rough edges and giving his new project a quick paint job, it was ready to be installed in his grandfather’s shop. But first, he wanted to enter the project in some welding contests. After all, it did take him 121 hours to complete.

The wood stove earned him a blue ribbon at the Oklahoma Youth Exposition, grand champion at the Love County Fair and first place at the Oklahoma State Fair.

“I wasn’t expecting it, but I was proud,” Cooper said, referring to the awards he received for the welding project.

Other than the thrill of welding and the satisfaction of a completed project, Cooper said his favorite part is the comradery.

“The experiences you get just being in the ag barn with everybody and the friendships — it’s kind of like one big family,” Cooper said. “We all help each other and stick together.”

That sense of support in the agricultural barn starts with leadership. Cooper said he credits Josh Bazor, Marietta Public School agricultural mechanics instructor and adviser for the school’s chapter of the National FFA organization, for helping fuel his interest in welding.

“Mr. Bazor has helped me so much,” Cooper said. “I am thankful for him.”

Welding is only one part of Cooper’s schedule. As Marietta 4-H president and president of the Love County 4-H cooking club, he balances leadership with community service. The cooking club frequently pairs food projects with outreach efforts, including baking cupcakes for veterans and organizing food drives for local food pantries.

He takes his role as 4-H president seriously, organizing club events and leading monthly meetings.

“I’m kind of like the person that keeps order,” Cooper said. “Either me or the vice president do all the pledges and the motto (during 4-H meetings).”

He also participates in shooting sports and plans to continue competing in agricultural mechanics while eventually transitioning into FFA.

Cooper has even found success in public speaking — something he considers daunting. Portraying rodeo legend Lane Frost in his first 4-H speech contest last year, he earned a grand champion ribbon.

While welding sparked his interest in building and 4-H lead him to leadership, the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps shaped his sense of purpose.

Cooper joined the program at 10 years old — the youngest a member can be — after reading about a cadet’s achievements in a newspaper article.

“Kall Meador was selected for the U.S. Naval Sea Corps Cadet of the Year award, and he had a newspaper article about that,” Cooper said. “I really thought it would be a fun experience. That’s when my grandma contacted the commander there to see when I could come to see what it was all about.

“The second I got there, I was treated like family.”

Cooper attends drill one weekend a month. They begin early Saturday mornings and continue through Sunday afternoon, filled with marching, inspections, team-building exercises and classroom learning. The schedule is structured and demanding, designed to build mental and physical agility.

“Discipline and respect are the two big things — also, perseverance,” Cooper said, explaining what he has learned from the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps.

When he first joined the program, he struggled to pass the physical fitness test. After pushing himself, he got stronger and faster and now passes the monthly tests with ease.

Cooper’s hard work has paid off. In November of last year, he was promoted to petty officer third class, the first level within the petty officer ranks. He was promoted to petty officer second class in March of this year.

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