Strum (WQOW) - On Friday, WQOW News 18 talked to the Eleva-Strum School District, who's getting their
students a leg-up on the job search.
"I've probably
spent over 2,000 hours in here," says Eleva-Strum High School Senior, Alex
Thronson. As a senior, he's
is no stranger to the sights, sounds and smells of the Eleva-Strum machine
shop.
"Cardinal
Manufacturing is a student-run machine and fabrication shop," says Craig Cegielski, who
teaches the class.
The students of Cardinal
Manufacturing, are doing a lot more than taking projects home to show mom and
dad.
Thronson says, "We
actually get to go out and make parts for other companies that will actually be
used instead of something that we make and then throw away."
And if you want in, you have to earn it.
"They are
working with customers, they learn all the aspects of the business. Jobs come
in, we have to quote, we have to order material. Students have to do the work,
talk to customers, invoice, use FedEx shipping, receiving, costs, and the
whole thing of running a business" says, Cegielski.
"To get into the
class they have to first take the prerequisite classes, take all the metal
working classes. And then their Junior year they can apply, which is building a
resume, a cover letter, references and a portfolio, go through and interview
process and we try to mimic it just like a real job," explains Cegielski.
Eleva –Strum, Junior,
Dana Kensmoa, says, "I've had four years of experience already and I am
only a Junior."
In eighth grade Dana Kensmoa got her
first taste of welding when she took a metal shop class.
"I like to create
the perfect weld and learn different techniques to make it look good," says
Kensmoa. "I'm planning on going into welding and fabrication at CVTC once
I graduate and then I am hopefully going to get a job somewhere around here
welding."
Cegielski says,"Right now there's
an extremely large need in our area for welders and machinist so we need to
kind of fill the pipeline and get the students going in that direction if
they're interested. It's not for everybody."
The
students do get paid for their work and receive reviews. The program has been around for five years
and the school says it keeps growing each year.
