KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Five Fulton High School students got to put their machining skills to the test as they participated in Pellissippi State Community College's machining boot camp.
Designed to teach essential machining skills for rising students, the five-day boot camp was part of the America's Cutting Edge (ACE) training program developed by the Composite Institute (IACMI) and UT professor Tony Schmitz who taught the same camp to students and adults at UT.
The program is designed to prepare individuals for a future in the manufacturing workforce. Grant-funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and in partnership with Pellissippi State, ORNL, IACMI and UT, the program started in December 2020 and already had over 1,450 students participate from across the nation.
The five Fulton High students included 2021 graduates Joselynne Orta, Krishiv Patel and Alexander Gaspar Manuel as well as rising seniors Kaylee Nava Sabino and Alexandria Russell. The up-and-coming machinists got to demonstrate their skills on Firday to Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr., Project GRAD Executive Director Ronni Chandler and Knox County Diversity Development Manager Darris Upton, as well as IACMI leaders.
"When the kids started Monday, they hadn't even used a hand drill before, and I thought, 'That’s perfect!'" said Mark Williams, Associate Professor of Pellissippi State's Mechanical Engineering Technology program. "Now they’re doing things they didn’t think they could do."
"Every one of them has done an excellent job running the machines," said Jose Nazario, an instructor with Pellissippi State’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program. "It’s been really impressive."
Two of the Fulton graduates, Orta and Patel, are already enrolled at Pellissippi State for the fall. Orta plans to study Business while Patel plans to study Web Technology. Meanwhile, Manuel is enrolled to attend UT in the fall to study Computer Engineering.
Orta said she plans to join the group of Pellissippi State students who build race cars for Formula SAE competitions. "I really enjoyed this class, and now they even want me on the Pellissippi State Motorsports team... I like cars, and I like this too."
