JEHS students tour local business for National Manufacturing Month

JEHS students recently celebrated National Manufacturing Month with a tour of Knowles Precision Devices in Cazenovia. The goal was to show students how local products are made, with the hopes of inspiring this next generation to pursue careers in manufacturing.

Knowles Precision Devices creates a wide range of products, used from 8,000 feet underground, to over 250 miles above us, orbiting the Earth. The company manufactures equipment such as radar, pacemakers, MRI equipment, satellites, airplanes, and electric vehicles.

Below, you’ll find reactions from sophomore students who attended the field trip.

What is the most interesting thing you learned on the tour?
 
“It was cool to see the machines in action, and it was interesting to see how the ceramics are manufactured from start to finish,” said Connor Whalen.
 
“I really loved getting to see the work environment,” added Brooke Chiaramonte. “It was cool to see that the employee seemed friendly and connected. It seemed like the space was inclusive and like the employees like working there.”
 
“Getting to see the different spaces, like the clean rooms and laser cutting process helped me understand how their products are made,” explained Baylee Cochran.
 
Did this trip give you a better idea of what you want to do post-high school?
 
“It gave us a better idea of what we would like our work environment to look like after high school,” explained Alma Myers. “Knowles seemed to have a flexible work environment and it seemed like people were happy to be there. That isn’t something you see very often!”
 
“I found the idea of designing packaging for a company like this a fun idea for a possible future career,” added Connor Whalen.
 
“It seems fun to be on the team in charge of quality control,” said Brooke Chiaramonte. “Under specific conditions they get to purposely find defects in their products. I think I would be interested in a career related to this.”
 
“It opened my eyes to job possibilities in Central New York and that there are a lot of career possibilities close to home in STEM,” Claire Brown realized. “It was also awesome to see so many female employees in a STEM workplace! That was really empowering for me as a young woman interested in tech.”