Cedar Falls High School (CFHS) has accrued many benefits from the SME Education Foundation’s PRIME (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) initiative since being accepted into the program in 2013 that has led the school to become a STEM leader in their region.
The SME PRIME program at Anna High School prepares students for roles at manufacturing partner Honda of America Manufacturing with online learning manufacturing education courses like basic safety, measurement, robotics and quality control. The online learning is supplemented with hands-on training on precision measurement instruments and a FANUC robotic arm.
Pine Bush High School experienced "the highest of highs" after launching their SME PRIME Program. A day later, the school shut down due to the COVID pandemic. The school is making the most of opportunity and using their manufacturing equipment to produce face shields for frontline workers while also continuing to educate students through online courses.
Receiving an SME Education Foundation Family Scholarship in 2018 meant a lot to Emily Redekopp, a mechanical engineering student who’s in her junior year at South Dakota State University. Engineering is in Redekopp’s family — her father is a mechanical engineer. But she has also always had a great interest in STEM subjects, which led her to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition as a high school student.
Scholarship Success Stories | SMEEF All Scholarship Stories
Industry knows that the current — and looming larger, the future — lack of skilled and prepared employees is severe. This skills gap could lead to a shortage of as many as 2.4 million manufacturing workers in the next decade. Our challenge remains the same, and our education and industry partners share that challenge: How can we attract, interest — and then inspire young people to explore the opportunities being offered?
Anna Hiszpanski has made a name for herself as a research scientist in the materials science division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, but she’s never forgotten the help she got along the way — including the SME Education Foundation Family Scholarship, which she used for her undergraduate studies at Caltech.