What an exciting and successful day October 15th was for our entire Genesis team, the Hancock County community and workforce-bound Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students. We’re honored to have joined Rose-Hulman, the Fortville/McCordsville Chamber of Commerce, the Hancock Economic Development Council, Bastian Solutions and Proportion Air for the inaugural Exploring Advanced Manufacturing Solutions in Hancock County Indiana event! Seventeen mechanical engineering students from Rose-Hulman traveled to Hancock County Indiana to visit Bastian Automation Engineering, Proportion Air and Genesis Plastics Welding for a firsthand perspective on advanced manufacturing.
We enjoyed seeing the students’ excitement and fielding their questions in regards to STEM-related careers in manufacturing. The students asked about everything from life after graduation to the more fun questions – such as our favorite question of the day: “What is the most unusual/shocking item that you have been asked to manufacturer?” (Our engineers had some fun with that answer).
The group’s curiosity and appetite for knowledge was inspiring. It gave us the opportunity to share the passion we have for our industry with the future generation in a collaborative, educational and fun way. In a time where we so often hear about the depreciating loss of interest in STEM fields, we found the students’ eagerness to learn refreshing and encouraging.
Genesis President and CEO Tom Ryder enjoyed getting to spend lunch with the bright minded students at Indulge Café in Fortville. “It was insightful to hear about the students’ future plans: from building any sort of equipment to heading back to the family farm to make it more efficient and modernized to creating an innovative all terrain wheel chair,” said Ryder. “The future of manufacturing is going to need talented students just like this group: full of passion for their field, strong leadership skills and hungry for a challenge. We’re hopeful that by providing a glimpse into real-world manufacturing that we may have ignited a sparked for them, and it is a career option that they truly explore.”
The students’ shared a similar optimism about their future careers. “I can see myself working in a similar manufacturing environment,” said Albert Rogito Nyangeri, an attendee from Rose-Hulman. “It was interesting to learn about how products move through manufacturing and understand the validation processes that ensure that the products meet customer’s needs. I certainly hope there are more events like this in the future.”
Fortville/McCordsville Executive Director Nancy Strickland noted that the students were immersed and engaged at each location visited. “They walked away with inside information to share with their peers and professors on the opportunities available to them in Hancock County, Indiana,” said Strickland. “It is exciting that we were able to showcase for them what a great place our county is to live, work and play.”
Being able to observe advanced manufacturing firsthand and see “how it works” proved to be a valuable asset to the students. “Manufacturing is so much more than what many people think,” said Elaine Lee, Rose-Hulman Career Services Corporate Liaison. “It’s an innovative industry full of promise for today’s graduating students.”
Additionally, having a sustainable high quality workforce pipeline is of great benefit for Genesis, as well as all manufacturing firms. Genesis is happy to have played a role in this first Advanced Manufacturing Solutions in Hancock County Indiana event and looks forward to seeing it continue next year with three additional companies and more eager workforce-bound students exploring all our great county has to offer.