Advanced Manufacturing Blog

Last week, over a dozen students from the Grundy Center area spent their days getting a jump on their future careers by building their STEM skills.  STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is an educational pathway that aligns with the most in-demand jobs both locally and globally.

A new class of 80 young people began a new adventure in the world of engineering and manufacturing development this week by participating in one of Hawkeye Community College’s FREE Gateway Academy Camps. 

At 7:30 this morning, twenty young people boarded a bus ready to set off for a day of orientation for the new class of EMC2 students at Hawkeye Community College.  EMC2, created in 2000, is a program that allows high school students to get a head start on their careers in CNC Machining and Tooling Technology by taking *FREE* classes during the summers following their junior and senior years.

Each day, at least one person will ask me, “Where do your students go to work after graduation?  John Deere?”  The truth is, we are fortunate to live in a community that hosts such a prestigious company that does, in fact, hire many Hawkeye Community College graduates.  This has been a proud statistic that Hawkeye has shared with potential students for many years.

My career revolves around manufacturing and manufacturing training.  Until recently, this has been a topic that has intimidated a lot of people.  Now, the media is doing all sorts of stories about manufacturing and its role in turning around our nation’s economy.  But, I am here to tell you that this is not anything new.

With more than two hundred job openings for CNC Machinists, Hawkeye Community College has been working to develop new and exciting ways to draw more people to this profitable and reliable career.  One new program being developed in the Applied Science and Engineering Technology Department, involves seven, new CNC Tourmach machines that will be "loaned" to specfic high schools in Area VII.

When many people think about typical industrial technology curriculum, they think about hammering birdhouses and gluing doorstops.  The truth is, the sophistication, innovation and technology in today's industrial technology classrooms is astounding and students are building amazing projects and making a difference in their communities.

High school students in the Independence area have a unique opportunity to get a head start on their manufacturing careers by taking part in the Welding Academy at Hawkeye's Independence Center.  With the help of their high school guidance counselors, students can sign up for afternoon classes that will help them to earn 11 credits toward their future training program BEFORE graduating from high school.  This is a $1,600 value!  AMAZING! 

On a rainy Friday on a campus buzzing with students preparing for finals, faculty put down their red pens for an afternoon and welcomed dozens of 6th grade students from all six, Cedar Falls elementary schools to learn about in-demands careers in the STEM field. 

Each year, Hawkeye Community College sponsors several camps where middle school students are invited to build rockets, shoot catapults, design bridges, race solar cars and learn a lot of teamwork.  Gateway to Technology is a Project Lead the Way program offered to junior high students across the country, and with the help of generous, local foundations, Hawkeye Community College is able to offer these great activities in camp form.