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С��è��ý partners with St. Helens High School to take Manufacturing Day virtual

Photos and story by Alfredo V. Moreno

In a year of unprecedented change, С��è��ý, and the have remained committed to helping Columbia County high school students explore careers in advanced manufacturing.

Unable to host the annual, in-person Manufacturing Day event due to COVID-19, the planning committee turned to St. Helens High School metals and manufacturing students to help continue the important initiative.

“St. Helens students have played a leadership role in each of the past OMIC Manufacturing Day events, and we were excited to continue the tradition through an alternative virtual format,” said Bonnie Adams, the metals and manufacturing teacher at St. Helens.

Utilizing Zoom, St. Helens students conducted taped interviews with tradesmen and women from companies including USiA, Vigor, Cobot Team and Autodesk. The student-led interviews covered topics on what it’s like to work in the trades, the skills and training required and advice on how to prepare for a career in advanced manufacturing.

“The students were able to ask the questions that were on their minds, and our industry partners answered honestly, drawing on their own experience, while providing practical insights on a variety of careers in manufacturing,” said Adams.

In total, the Manufacturing Day Committee produced and distributed designed to help students learn more about advanced manufacturing. The videos, which were shared with 12 school districts and reached approximately 270 students in Northwest Oregon, featured the student-led industry interviews, an OMIC R&D blueprint tutorial, and messages from local elected leaders, including U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and State Sen. Betsy Johnson.

“These are challenging times, and it’s critical we continue to support young people who are interested in manufacturing,” said Adams. “I’m grateful to our industry partners, and I’m incredibly proud of the leadership our students showed to support other young people across the region.”

This year’s Manufacturing Month initiative, like this past summer’s Columbia Works paid internship program, highlighted the importance of С��è��ý’s engagement with the Columbia County community as the college prepares to open its new С��è��ý OMIC training center in Scappoose in 2021. The center will be focused on cultivating Oregon’s next generation of advanced manufacturing workers and house such programs as machining, industrial fabrication and mechatronics.