TSMA Manufacturing Career Dream Team
TSMA Manufacturing Career Dream Team
The TSMA’s Manufacturing Career Dream Team program is up and running! Who are the Dream Team? Career Dream Team members are early-career employees who play a front-facing role in their community, representing the manufacturing industry. They represent the industry in the TSMA region’s schools and communities, sharing their real-life stories of success. This group of professionals are dedicated to engaging, educating, and employing today’s students in high-quality manufacturing jobs, while also educating career influencers like parents and educators. They bring forward a message of inspiration, passion, and drive to potential students as they make decisions about their future and what they want to do in life. Each Career Dream Team member has a unique education and career pathway, as well as a unique voice. Together, team members paint an exciting picture of the industry and the career opportunities it affords.
There are a few changes this year. The new TSMA Manufacturing Career Dream Team Coordinator is Shari Petersen. Shari comes to this position with an educational background. She was an elementary education teacher and mentor for over 24 years, only recently resigned from the Alexandria School District. While employed with the Alexandria School District, she mentored future educators from high schools, technical colleges and four-year accredited colleges. She also supervised college students in their student teaching experiences. Her passion has always been to help students, no matter the age, find their future. She is excited to use her experiences toward the goal of the Dream Team which is to change the public image of manufacturing in the Tri-State region and attract the next generation of manufacturing talent.
With school in full gear in the TSMA region, she has been contacting the schools in the area to let them know what we can offer the schools and any special programming they need that would create a wonderful partnership between our Dream Team and the education community. In addition, there are several new initiatives that the Dream Team is working on. One of these new initiatives is the Dream Team Career Mentorship Program.
The Dream Team members this year are
- Jimmy Jevnager from FORCE America
- Melany Arceneau from Massman Automation Designs,
- Sam Ewald from Massman Automation Designs
- Derek Klimek from Massman Automation Designs
- Brittany Wing from Vector Windows
- Mitchel Nickolauson from Vector Windows
- Jason Crannell from ITW Heartland, and
- Ryan Swiontek from ITW Heartland.
Collaboration with the Dream Team offers many benefits for schools and students:
- Stronger relationship with local manufacturers
- Awareness of career opportunities within the region
- Awareness of local college programs complimenting manufacturing career pathways.
- Awareness of skills needed for 21st century manufacturing jobs
- Potential for getting help/advice with hands-on projects in the classroom.
- Classroom Speakers
- Company Tours
- Job Shadowing
- Youth Apprenticeship (16 years of age and older depending on experience)
- Student Mentoring which can include quarterly lunches together at the school cafeterias
- Donation of Materials
- Work-based Training
- Student technical project support (Working with youth on a project such as: 4H Engineering Design Team project, classroom Tech-Ed project etc.)
- Staffing an exhibit at a career fair
- Speaking at a career fair breakout session
- Being a judge for an engineering design challenge, robotics, or other STEM-related competitions
- And so much more …
