Atypical student excelling at WACTC
Shana Hayes is not your typical student. In fact, she is what Pennsylvania calls a “non-traditional student” – and she is excelling at it. Hayes is a female in a predominately male career field. She is also an adult student who finds herself back in high school after being out for nearly five years while raising her son.
“I was really nervous at the thought of going back to school,” Hayes said, “but I was determined to have a real career so I could make a better life for me and my son. It didn’t help that I had picked a male-dominated field and I was going to be with high school students. But the kids have been wonderful. They’re very helpful. It’s just a great environment. I just really enjoy being here.”
Shana, who is currently enrolled in the 935-hour Machine Shop daytime program at the Western Area Career & Technology Center in Canonsburg, hopes the training she is receiving can catapult her into a career with one of the many local manufacturers in our area. According to machining instructor Al Kammenzind, “She’s off to a great start and is an ideal student. She came to the program focused and motivated and it shows in her work. She has excellent math skills and retains information exceptionally well.”
For those who would like to make machine technology a career, Kammenzind said, “It’s simple. You need to have common sense. You need to be logical and you need to be very detail oriented.”
Hayes agrees. “I really enjoy the programming portion of the class. I’m given a print (blueprint) of a part and create the tool paths. In other words, I transform the information into G-code, which in turn tells the machine what to do.”
Her career opportunities are also looking up. All of Kammenzind’s seniors are currently spoken for by the industry. “The career opportunities in our area are phenomenal. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects an 11-14 percent growth for our area over the next 10 years, and nearly double that if you want to travel to the West Coast. Many of the shops are clean, very high-tech and filled with highly-skilled craftsmen and women.”
Western Area also offers a 300-hour evening program, Machine Tool Technology. Classes are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The next class will be starting soon.
For more information about Western Area CTC and available classes, contact Dennis Dull at 724-746-2890, ext. 182, or email ddull@wactc.net.