CHAMPION, Ohio – The idea of working with his hands attracted Evan Wilson of Liberty to the mechanical engineering program at Kent State University at Trumbull.
The high salary that usually accompanies jobs in that field didn’t hurt either, said Wilson, a sophomore at the branch campus.
“I don’t like sitting in an office building,” he said. “It’s boring, staring at a computer 24 hours a day. Working with my hands is something that will get me up and moving. That’s the way I learn, and that’s the way I would like to function for the rest of my life.”
Encouraging more student interest in its mechanical engineering technology and electrical/electronic engineering technology programs was a goal of the campus’s Friday open house and tech and trade show. Both events are part of National Engineers Week, which runs through Saturday.
Students from Kent City Schools’ Franklin Roosevelt High School and Rivergate High School in Warren visited the campus, learning more about the programs, seeing the labs and working with equipment.
The Franklin Roosevelt High School students are enrolled in the Kent program online through their school. Friday they worked with Flavia Inbanathan, associate professor of electrical engineering technology, to learn more about semiconductor and microelectronics applications.
An afternoon Tech & Trade Open House was planned to showcase the Kent State Trumbull engineering technology and semiconductor programs. It was designed for high school students, adult learners and local employers interested in workforce development and employee training opportunities.
Peggy Shadduck, vice president of Kent State’s regional campuses and dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies, said Friday’s event highlights the programs offered.
“The program itself has been around for a little while, but there’s an increased demand for employees coming in,” she said.
Inviting high school students to the labs helps inform them about career opportunities in those fields, Shadduck said.
The afternoon session for adults and industry and community representatives allows attendees to see the labs and learn about what’s available “so that we can work with them and partner with them, and make sure that they also can work toward making sure that they can fill the jobs …,” she said. “So we’re trying to meet that need.”
After earning an associate’s degree in one of the Kent State Trumbull engineering programs, graduates can choose to enter the workforce directly or pursue a bachelor’s degree at the main campus.
“We’re trying to be that bridge between the people that are ready to get the education to go into those jobs and the people that need those” employees, Shadduck said. “So let’s make sure everybody knows that we’re raring to go and ready to do it.”
Paul Dykshoorn, director of engineering technology at Kent State University at Tuscarawas, and Mohammad Irfan, associate mechanical engineering technology professor at Kent State Trumbull, point to the high salaries paid to people entering the industry.
Irfan said a new graduate with an associate degree can earn an annual starting salary between $70,000 and $80,000.
And Dykshoorn said events like the one Friday help spur interest.
“We did a study in Trumbull and Stark counties, and we found out that as far as aptitude, we had about 4,000 students that had the aptitude for engineering technology,” he said. “But the interest was only around 2,000.”
Some people associate manufacturing with work in a dirty factory, but that’s outdated, Dykshoorn said. The industry involves work with robots, on CNC machines and 3D printers.
“They have the aptitude to do that, but that hasn’t connected in their mindset to a career in engineering technology, and that’s one of the things that we were trying to combat,” he said. “We’re trying to get people interested and aware of what we have here.”
Carolynn Coonce is in her first year at Kent State Trumbull, majoring in mechanical engineering technology. The Trumbull Career & Technical Center and Mineral Ridge High School graduate acknowledges the work is challenging, but she says she enjoys it.
She studied heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration at TCTC and worked at her uncle’s HVAC company, but she decided to explore more career options.
“I always liked hands-on growing up,” Coonce said. “That’s what I liked to do. And then I went through school at TCTC, but I just wanted more.”
She hasn’t decided on a career.
“I want to get into some kind of internship in engineering so I can get my foot in the door and learn some more,” Coonce said.
Pictured at top: Students Evan Wilson and Carolynn Coonce.