Mt. Pleasant seniors ignite welding internship into career

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

Raul Espinoza and Jacob Swailes stick tight to the yellow line, which designates the walking path through Hearth and Home Technologies, holding their welding gear in one hand and waving to employees with their other. The duo pauses at a worktable, shielded by a red curtain at the far end of the manufacturing building. They stop long enough to put on their welding helmets and disappear behind the curtain.

Espinoza and Swailes are seniors at Mt. Pleasant High School and spend the final hour of their school day at Hearth and Home Technologies, honing their craft as part of an internship with the manufacturing firm. Both students began welding at the beginning of the school year.

?I felt I could do it (welding) and do it correctly,? Swailes said as to why he stuck with the trade.

Espinoza echoed his peer, adding he thought he?d be able to get a good paying job as a welder following graduation in May.

?Our teacher told us we should get an internship, so we did,? said Espinoza as he stepped out of the sunlight and into the modernly decorated lobby of Hearth and Home. ?It?s been going pretty good, we?ve learned a lot.?

This is the first year for the partnership between the manufacturer and the school district, but both entities hope it will not be the last.

?We were looking to see how we could build relationships in the community and get the word out that manufacturing isn?t all shooting screws, there are lots of different opportunities,? said Angie Blint, materials manager at Hearth and Home.

When Tyler Rodgers, school to work coordinator at Mt. Pleasant High School, contacted Blint about possible internship possibilities, she jumped right on board.

?We set up a meeting, Tyler came out and toured (the facility) and we felt it was a good time to try,? she said.

?I wasn?t really sure where to send them,? confessed Rodgers. ?Mr. (Rob) Kinney (career and industrial technology instructor) suggested Hearth and Home, so after a couple of phone calls and visits out there, we got (the students) all set up and started and they?ve been going every day since.?

Rodgers said Espinoza and Swailes have two class periods free for the work-based learning, and with travel time, get to spend about an hour at their internship.

?There have been other places in town that students have done internships or work experiences and have ended up getting hired later on. I think both have recently applied for jobs at Hearth and Home,? he said.

?It just creates a great relationship,? he continued. ?The businesses invest in the kids and the kids invest in the business; it ends up being good for everyone.?

But besides a future job opportunity at the firm, the internship gives the students a chance to try out their craft and see if it?s something they?d like to make a career out of. ?The kids have been there welding, getting the experience and they?re pretty sure that?s what they want to do now,? he added.

So far, Blint said the arrangement is going very well. ?They come everyday and have gotten a lot of different exposure to different areas in the plant,? she said. ?It?s giving them a good introduction into manufacturing.?

For the students, their favorite part of the internship is the people they?ve met and worked with.

?Meeting the new people has been the best part,? said Espinoza.

Swailes agreed, saying the biggest surprise for him was how ?extraordinarily nice and helpful? the employees have been.

Hearth and Home Technologies hopes to continue the partnership with the high school and hopefully expand to the different areas within the manufacturing business.