PRINT ARTICLE

Print    Close This Window
WHAT'S SO COOL ABOUT MANUFACTURING?
WHAT'S SO COOL ABOUT MANUFACTURING?

Left to Right: Jessica Nolasco, Dorian Wallace, Jenna Barnes, Matthew Kleinwachter, Anna Luu, Hannah Strange


Like "DreamItDoItOKI" on Facebook and Twitter. 

Visit http://www.dreamitdoitoki.com/ to support the GCMS team as they learn and share!


When you think of a factory -- or a career in manufacturing -- do you think your job may be dirty, repetitive, or even dangerous?

A group of Grant County Middle School students acknowledge that is exactly what they thought before they accepted the “Dream It Do It” challenge from the Partners for a Competitive Workforce.

The challenge for the six students and their teacher, Mrs. Angela Cummins, is to visit a local manufacturing site, then develop a short video that shares with their peers all the cool things about today’s advanced manufacturing.

Manufacturers in Northern Kentucky are diligently working to change public perceptions about careers in manufacturing.  They want students who will soon be choosing their career paths to know that the old stereotypical images generated by history lessons on the early industrial revolution are a thing of yesterday, and that today’s advanced manufacturing setting includes safe, clean, well-lit – even attractive work spaces filled with high tech equipment and innovation -- coupled with  big-business and personal growth opportunities.

With the “Dream It Do It” video challenge, students are provided GoPro video equipment, then are invited to visit their choice of several Northern Kentucky manufacturers involved with the project.  The GCMS team chose Mazak, located in Florence, KY, and had the opportunity to tour the facility.  They then interviewed Grant County High School grad, Paul Rayburn, who now serves as the Assistant Manager of Assembly at Mazak, and Angie Herolaga, Mazak’s employment manager.

The students, Jessica Nolasco, Dorian Wallace, Jenna Barnes, Matthew Kleinwachter, Anna Luu, and Hannah Strange, were very impressed with what they saw.  They discovered that Mazak is “project oriented” and not an assembly line at all.  According to the students, it was clean, modern, and attractive with the offices being strategically placed near the production centers.  They learned that over 1,000 cranes are available to do the heavy lifting; and robots, rather than humans, are assigned the jobs that are considered “dangerous”, “dull”, or “dirty.”

The team also met with two of Grant County High School’s recent graduates, Kevin Banks and Brandon Barnard, who are working at Mazak as part of an apprenticeship program which provides employment, on-the-job training, and tuition and books for an Associate Degree in Advanced Manufacturing from Gateway Community and Technical College.

The GCMS team is excited to be one of the 15 participating schools (10 from Ohio and 5 from Kentucky), and the students are excited about what they are learning.  In addition to the camera equipment and the site visit, teams have been given study resources and have received video technical assistance from Cincinnati State.

The GCMS team would like to encourage their fans to follow their work as it progresses.  Visit the Dream It Do It website (http://www.dreamitdoitoki.com/), sign in and look around.  Completed videos will be posted in February, with winners being determined by voting which will take place over a 3-day period – February 22 – 24.  Be sure to mark your calendar to support our team during this time.  The winner will be announced February 25.

Finally, liking “DreamItDoItOKI” on Facebook and Twitter and/or Instagram and You Tube can get our kids a pizza party – and will allow followers to see what exciting career opportunities await in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana manufacturing market.

Support our kids now and February 22 - 24, 2016!

Like "DreamItDoItOKI" on Facebook and Twitter.

Visit http://www.dreamitdoitoki.com/

to support the GCMS team, and

discover for yourself,

"What's So Cool About Manufacturing?!"

---

This project is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and the Toyota Foundation.  Strategic partners include Tech Solve, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Dodd Camera and WCET Connect, Cincinnati's Public Broadcast Station.