RR AA I I SS EE
TT HH EE
BB AA RR ® |
® |H A H N A C N O C C O K C KC O C U O N U T N YT Y
M PP LL OO YY EE RR EE M
W SS LL EE TT TT EE RR NN EE W
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2
IN THIS ISSUE M E E T A N D G R E E T: WO R K P L AC E S O F F E R TO U R S TO E D U C ATO R S TICKET TO RIDE: REINEKE F A M I LY D E A L E R S H I P S ’ INTERNSHIPS POPULAR WITH STUDENTS GEARING UP: VAN BUREN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT’S CITY A P PA R E L + M E R C H I N T E R N S H I P PROVIDING HANDS-ON LEARNING S U M M E R S C H O O L : E D U C ATO R S LEARN ABOUT ADVANCED M A N U FAC T U R I N G
MEET AND GREET: WORKPLACES OFFER TOURS TO EDUCATORS
Hassan noted it was also helpful to hear from employers about which characteristics they value in quality job candidates, which It’s not just Hancock County students touring employers to find out she said are “the same characteristics that more about career opportunities – their teachers are, too. After all, make quality students and citizens.” learning more about regional workplaces allows educators to better “Educators need to be aware of desired and more creatively enlighten students about the numerous job skills and traits for the future workforce,” options available to them after graduation. Bushong said, because they’re “working Raise the Bar Hancock County® assists in this regard by hosting an with students to help them leave high annual Summer Educator Experience. This year’s event included school prepared to make life choices.” two sessions servicing 20 K-12 Hancock County-area educators. This school year, Hassan plans to place Tours were held at Hancock Public Health; Kirk Corporation; more emphasis on clear communication Hancock Federal Credit Union; Rowmark; One Energy; City Apparel with and from her students. She’ll also + Merch; Blanchard Valley Health System; Ohio Department of encourage them to job shadow and Natural Resources; City of Findlay; and Amazon Distribution Center. cultivate professional contacts. Participating workplaces offered a closer look at the wide variety of services they provide and how they can and do align with what’s Bushong plans to “provide continued focus on soft skills,” such as how to maintain a being taught in classrooms. conversation and collaborate with others. Toni Hassan, a McComb High School math teacher, said the latest Summer Educator Experience allowed her to visit places she did not Raise the Bar® continues to coordinate more interactions among employers and know even existed, even though she’s a lifelong county resident. Jenna Bushong, a Riverdale Elementary School teacher, felt similarly educators. Become involved by contacting after taking tours. “I had minimal knowledge of several organizations Ashley Stepec-Bibler at stepec-bibler@ raisethebarhancock.org. that we had visited but was intrigued to learn about the variety of products and services offered in the community,” she said.
R A I S E
T H E
B A R
|
H A N C O C K
GET CONNECTED SCAN QR CODE TO SIGN U P F O R D I G I TA L E D I T I O N
Remain in-the-know on how local students are preparing for your talent pipeline and what you can do to help.
GET I N VO LV E D MOCK INTERVIEWS
Millstream Career Center wants employers to conduct mock interviews with students. Sign up your team/business at: bit.ly/MCCmockinterviews CAREER EXPO SERIES
Raise the Bar will continue hosting high school students and teachers in monthly industry days. Events resume in 2024, with programs the months of February, March, and May. C A R E E R D AY S
Numerous school districts are planning in-house career days for their students. If interested in participating in one of the days, contact Raise the Bar. YOUSCIENCE PROFILE
Liberty-Benton, Cory-Rawson, Findlay City, Van Buren, and Millstream students are completing career assessments and searching for matching local employers on YouScience. Help students find your company by completing a free profile at: employers.youscience.com/ employer/registration
C O U N T Y ®
TICKET TO RIDE: REINEKE FAMILY DEALERSHIPS’ INTERNSHIPS POPULAR WITH STUDENTS A Millstream Career Center internship opportunity at a local business is so popular that on the first day of school, students were asking about signing up for it. Even with an application, interview, and onboarding process that’s similar to real-world protocols, students are intrigued. According to Millstream’s Work Based Coordinator Kyle Watts, the Reineke Family Dealerships’ (RFD) 10-week work-study program hires students from Millstream and three other regional career centers and schools to intern in its service, parts, sales, and body shop departments that serve its 10 dealerships. “The most handson experience comes in the service department alongside a certified trainer that Reineke has identified,” Watts said. All interns, however, gain valuable skills that range from business concepts to customer service. Each department features its own training and work regimen that rotates interns through various positions. For instance, sales department interns complete an online course; work with a finance specialist; and focus on sales and lot merchandising. Body shop work-study participants learn about formulating estimates for work, parts blue printing, painting and refinishing, and repairs. At the end of the 10-week program, interns are expected to have refined their interest areas and participate in an exit interview in which they discuss their key program takeaways. Additionally, internships are just the beginning of the program’s scope. Along with educating students, the program is designed to recruit, retain and advance valued workers. By identifying some of the best students interested in entering the workforce after graduation, Reineke incentives professional interest in its business with an academy model that includes apprenticeships for high school graduates. Employees can then become base-level certified and master-level certified, learning and applying those skills as they work. Throughout the process, students gain valuable skills that set them on the path to career success. They learn interview techniques to best market themselves, decision-making and engagement techniques to collaborate and problem-solve, and presentation acumen, thus practicing and exemplifying an RFD mantra: drive to WIN.
Photo Courtesy of Millstream Career Center
E M P L O Y E R
N E W S L E T T E R
GEARING UP: VAN BUREN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT’S CITY APPAREL + MERCH INTERNSHIP PROVIDING HANDS-ON LEARNING If you ask Van Buren High School student Abigail “Abbie” Bowen what sort of work she’s enjoying through her City Apparel + Merch internship, she’ll provide a laundry list (pun intended!) of accomplishments. During the past few months alone, Bowen has received, shipped, made direct-to-film transfers, pressed screens on shirts, kitted customized Blanchard Valley Health System onboarding boxes for new employees, and organized the business’ inventory room. In the process, she has learned some key specifics and nuances about customer service, product design and production, creativity, and B2B concepts that she’ll be able to use to find a great job after she graduates. Bowen, who has interned for about a year and is the second Van Buren student to do so, has also absorbed how community service plays a vital role within a region. City Apparel + Merch’s website notes it is “a Benefit Corporation to generate social and public good and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. As a Benefit Corporation, we consider the impact of our business decisions not only on shareholders but also on team members, customers, the community, and our planet,” it explains. As such, it has won awards such as the Women Business Champion Award, Corporate Good Scout Award, and Community Partner of the Year Award. “This internship has been amazing so far,” Bowen emphasized. The experience, she said, has enabled her to markedly improve her communication skills. She now knows a lot more about the necessity of effective teamwork and how best to work within a company’s management structure. Bowen said she also enjoys her coworkers, sharing, “I love the welcoming community and environment. Everyone is all very easygoing and welcoming,” which makes it easier to contend with the challenges of having to balance work, school, and athletics, she maintained. She plans to continue with the internship after the volleyball season concludes.
“[Van Buren’s] industrial technology teacher, Michael Daniels, has had a great working relationship with City Apparel + Merch through Chris Myers, a 2001 Van Buren graduate who is a graphic designer there,” said Brian Bratt, Van Buren career advisor and ELA teacher.
1 2 3 E MA IN CROS S ST R E E T FI N DLAY, OH 4 5 8 4 0
SUMMER SCHOOL: EDUCATORS LEARN ABOUT ADVANCED MANUFACTURING A National Science Foundation-funded immersive learning program offered at Bowling Green State University provided high school and community college STEM educators with innovative advanced manufacturing and robotics knowledge to share with students and coworkers. The 2023 Summer NSF Research Experience for Teachers (RET): Empowering Educators, Igniting Innovation, introduced by BGSU’s School of Engineering, was a “transformative initiative designed to shape the future of advanced manufacturing and robotics education.” Five regional educators participated in the paid six-week program: John Faisant, McComb High School; Kimberly Smelcer, Vanlue High School; Travis Justice, Fostoria High School; and Courtney Fisher and Samantha Williams, Findlay High School. To garner state-of-the art manufacturing skills to up their teaching game, participants learned about: • automated material handling systems, such as how to program an industrial robot arm for pick-n-place operation; • mechanics technology and automation software, including industrial processes that involve sensing devices, actuating systems, communication protocols, and computer processing units; and • additive manufacturing, the industrial name for 3D printing. Hancock County’s teachers also spent time engaging in a research project; attending research presentations, curriculum development workshops, and industry tours; and developing an instructional module to teach local students. BGSU will host a second round of educators in Summer 2024. Apply by March 1, 2024 at https://etap.nsf.gov/ award/603/opportunity/2839.