LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Gerald "Dave" Huffman was nominated by a colleague, Brian Copes.

Mr. Huffman's story is one marked by service, sacrifice, and a commitment to transforming the lives of young people. After serving 23 years in the United States Air Force and becoming a 100% disabled veteran, Mr. Huffman could have chosen a quieter life. Instead, he decided to pour his passion, experience, and heart into shaping the next generation of builders, innovators, and servant leaders.

As Mississippi's Methods Instructor, Mr. Huffman has mentored and trained over 83 new construction teachers, equipping them to guide thousands of students across the state. His influence stretches far beyond Mississippi. Mr. Huffman also serves as an NCCER Curriculum Mentor, coaching new teachers in Massachusetts and New York, raising the bar for career and technical education nationwide.

His most significant impact is on the students he teaches every day. Through his afterschool welding program, now 48 students and growing, Mr. Huffman helps young people discover their strengths and build real-world skills. These students didn't just learn welding. They designed and built their own welding lab inside a shipping container, complete with framing, insulation, climate control, and four 240V circuits for welding machines and a plasma cutter. These students don't just build here at home. They build hope around the world.

Mr. Huffman leads a unique, life-changing prosthetics program where students 3D-print prosthetic legs. These aren't classroom models. They are real, functional legs that Dave and his students personally take to amputees in need. In both Costa Rica and Peru, his students have fitted these 3D-printed prosthetics onto individuals who had lived for years without mobility or stability. In those moments, students witness the power of their own skills to restore dignity and change a life forever. Their extraordinary humanitarian work drew high recognition, including honors from the Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, who celebrated the students for their global service and innovation.

Mr. Huffman and his students are not slowing down. Right now, they're converting another shipping container into a fully functional welding lab, but this time, it's not for their school. The lab will be shipped to a rural school in Río Esteban, Honduras, where young people will gain opportunities they've never had before. His students are literally building a learning space that will impact another generation in another nation. 

Under his leadership, students have also:

• Built a prototype transition shelter for Back Bay Mission to serve the unhoused community on the Gulf Coast.
• Constructed STEM-Haven, converting three shipping containers into marine mechanics, welding, and underwater ROV labs.
• Installed complete electrical systems, trenched and placed conduit, and designed an 8'×20'×30" aquaponics tank used to grow seagrass for coastal restoration.

In 2017, Mr. Huffman earned the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Innovative Teacher Award, but his most significant achievements are the lives he continues to shape every day. He doesn't just teach skills. He teaches purpose. He teaches service. He teaches students that they can change the world, and that they already are. From Mississippi to Costa Rica to Peru to Honduras, his students are changing lives around the globe—one project, one prosthetic, and one act of service at a time. It all began with a teacher who believes and proves that hands-on learning can change the world, every single day.