Students Position for a Brighter Future Smells of barbecue and homemade salads fill the composites manufacturing technology shop at Olympic College on the last day of the quarter. The large work tables have been moved aside for an influx of new equipment purchased with funds from the Air Washington grant during winter break. Aside from the celebration, the stage is also set for students to race remote control cars, which they created in class out of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials.

Guy Houser, composites manufacturing faculty, said readers shouldn’t be fooled by the whimsical nature of the race cars. The bodies for the remote control cars were fabricated from a female fiberglass reinforced composite tool fabricated by the students from the original R/C car Lexan body. They used the same techniques used by composites manufacturers to capture and replicate highly detailed, complicated shapes. After creating the tooling, the students then fabricated their vehicle bodies using an epoxy wet layup with either carbon or fiberglass reinforcement, and vacuum bagging techniques.

When students returned winter quarter to finish their program, they reused their tools to gain an understanding of resin infusion and to create even higher quality composite forms.

Elise Solima is one of these students. She describes herself as a visual learner and says she is enjoying the program because of the hands-on nature of the training. She said she is excited about learning this trade because “most everything is fabricated and everything will at some point need repair.” This premise also is true for composites technology and subsequently, this is good for job security and a brighter future.

Aside from gaining highly marketable skills, for some students the benefits are far-reaching, impacting other areas of their lives. “This (program) has been very good for me,” said Shana Tennesen, “It has changed my life!” Shana left prison with a GED just five years ago and was full of self-doubt when she started the program. She is proud to say that she has earned a 4.0 GPA after her first quarter and looks forward to what lies ahead.

“I am doing so much better, now that I gave myself the opportunity,” she said.

Student Becomes Teacher You’ve seen the movies where a student is so good at something they become the teacher. Well, in this case it happened in real life.

Edwin “Allen” Fischer visited the WorkSource Okanogan Center after the lumber mill closed in 2009. He had been the powerhouse superintendent for 10 years. In that position his responsibilities included training employees.

After assessment and counseling, Fischer chose the industrial technology and electronics program at Wenatchee Valley College. The center coordinated financial aid from federal and state sources to provide the support to attend college 100 miles south in Wenatchee.

Fischer went after his degree hard, learning new skills, strategies and schematics. He earned a 3.71 GPA his first quarter and was consistently above 3.00 GPA for two years. He regularly stopped in to show staff the new processes he was learning and projects he was working on.

His instructors were impressed and Allen helped his classmates understand the material as well. SkillSource promotes the old axiom, “The best way to learn something is to teach it.” Unknowingly, Allen also was practicing his future occupation.

Near the end of his education, the college received a grant to expand the aerospace program to the Omak campus. The college needed an instructor and approached Fischer. With his electronics education and powerhouse experience, he fit the bill to teach WVC’s new Omak industrial technology courses.

And so, when classes started for the 2012-2013 school year, life imitated art. The student became the teacher and now passes along his knowledge to a new generation of learners.

M a r c h 2 0 1 3

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This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The solution was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This solution is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use, by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes, is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

Produced for the Air Washington Consortium by Community Colleges of Spokane. March 2013 J 12-0711

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OC Connects Electronics Students with “Current” Employers. Olympic College electronics students and alumni heard directly from an employer panel January 23 on how they can find work in the local economy. Representatives from six employers including Greysam Industrial Services, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport, Peninsula Light Company, PSNS and IMF, Puget Sound Electrical Apprenticeship and SafeBoats will reach out to program participants, providing tips for landing AND keeping a job. This event is open to the public and will be located in the theater on the Olympic College Bremerton campus from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Stephanie Thompson, Air Washington grant manager, says this is an exciting time particularly for industries related to aerospace. Unprecedented demand for aerospace and defense contracts, impending retirements and new technology are creating opportunities for high wage jobs. The employers are interested in growth and need workers willing to train and continue learning on the job. “It is rewarding to help students visualize a pathway beyond training to employment and give them some tools to start their journey to a career,” Thompson stated.

The inspiration for this event came from the Air Washington project, a $20 million U.S. Department of Labor grant designed to expand and enhance aerospace training opportunities at eleven community and technical colleges throughout the state. For Olympic College, this award totaled $2.2 million over a three year period which allowed them to breathe new life into electronics technology and manufacturing-precision machining, two programs that were tagged for suspension due to budget cuts, and continued support for the composites manufacturing technology program. Since the grant began, enrollments in the programs have grown exponentially and continue to rise.

“Partnership with industry is key to the success of this grant and the sustainability of these programs after the grant ends in September 2014,” Thompson said, adding that employers keep OC informed on skills needed in the local workforce and ideally engage with students via internships, work experiences, field trips or guest lecturing. By volunteering their time, employers have an edge on hiring the best and brightest graduates. The benefits to students also are increased with real work knowledge and an increased awareness of job prospects before program completion.

Air Washington student inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Air Washington student, Ted Plumb, has had plenty of challenges sprout up as he looked for a new career.

Ted is 52 years old, and that can be a tough time to look at going back to school. “It was always my dream to go to Big Bend Community College,” says Plum.

Academics did not come easy for Ted. He struggled to graduate from high school and was very “math phobic.” He was actually embarrassed in high school because of his difficulty with math, until recently when he got to look at math in a different way. Applied math would become the key to his success.

“Now I get math because I apply it, I use it,” said Plumb.

The AMT program at BBCC is proving to be an excellent fit for Plumb. When he talks about his career choice, he is

excited to report that “the sky is the limit!” He knows he will go to work

in the field he is training in, and that feels great.

Congrats to Ted for making it into the honor society!

Air Washington Students Visit With Aviation Technical Services Aerospace jobs are landing in Moses Lake.

Aviation Technical Services (ATS) and Big Bend Community College collaborated to make sure Air Washington students are in the loop when it comes to job opportunities. Linda Armstrong from ATS visited the BBCC campus to provide information about careers available at ATS, and what skills are required for a successful career in aircraft repair and maintenance.

Students were able to ask questions about wages, benefits, hours and promotional opportunities. While the ATS hangar is not completely renovated, it is already being utilized, and they are looking to fill many positions needed at the Moses Lake facility. Students had the opportunity to interview right in the BBCC AMT hangar. An internship agreement allowing AMT students to gain valuable work experience while they complete their education also is underway.