When he was younger, Dylan Presley wanted to be a professional athlete. Then he wanted to be a lawyer. Now that he’s 18, he wants to become a computer or electrical engineer.
What changed his mind? “It was my father originally,” he says. “He’s an engineer and he's worked at different companies like Chrysler, Ford and GM. So I got the interest from him.”
Presley’s interest was sparked further in 2025, during his junior year at Ypsilanti Community High School (YCHS) in Michigan, when he joined the school’s SME PRIME® (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) program and was mentored by CTE engineering and manufacturing teacher John Kim, EdD, who he says he was “lucky” to work with.
Describing his experience in the SME PRIME program, Presley says, “What I mostly did was get on the computers. And then in the middle of us doing that, we'd read a little bit. Then we'd go apply what we learned hands-on [with SME PRIME-provided manufacturing equipment].” After students completed their hands-on learning, they took a test to receive certification through the Tooling U-SME component of SME PRIME, which combines a tailored curriculum plan developed through research into local workforce needs with new, industry-relevant equipment, professional development for teachers, and funding for student engagement.
Having just graduated in May from high school, Presley is currently working as an intern at the Toyota North America Research and Development facility in Saline, Mich. “This is my third week and it’s been really fun,” he says.
At Toyota, Presley works in the crash barrier area. “We do everything: side crash, rear crash, front crash, and a front passenger or front driver,” he says. “Right now I'm doing a lot of 3D scanning of the car to see how everything deformed in the crash.” Having just watched his first test crash, Presley says, “It’s really cool.” His favorite thing about the job, he says, is that “Toyota has a really good community and I love everyone there. They’re so welcoming and so nice, it makes you feel like you're not at work.”
As part of the internship, in the fall Presley will be attending Washtenaw Community College, where he’ll be enrolled in Toyota’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) work-study program, a nationally recognized program through which students can earn an associate degree and gain more than 1,800 hours of paid, hands-on experience. Right now, Presley is working at Toyota 40 hours a week, but when school starts in the fall, he’ll work three days a week and go to school the other two.
Through his efforts, Presley has become part of the 91% of SME PRIME high school students who go on to pursue careers in manufacturing or engineering by following one of several paths: pursuing a two- or four-year postsecondary degree in manufacturing or engineering, attending trade school, accepting an apprenticeship or moving directly into the manufacturing workforce.
“I thought [the Toyota internship] was a really good way to work for a company, get paid and still stay in school,” he says. “So I can still balance the best of both worlds.”
