By: The Pottawatomie Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) | 02.09.21
During the Fall 2020 semester, over 20 Wamego High students joined the school’s new Career & Technical Education Internship Program. Led by Work Based Learning coordinator Crystal Brunner, Career and Technical Education Coordinator Tammy Biswell, and Counselor Jina Kugler, the program provides internship, job shadowing, and career exploration opportunities for upperclassman. One of the fall interns was WHS senior and Wamego resident Callan Moore.
As a part of the internship program, Callan interned with Dymax in Wamego. In an interview with the PCEDC, Callan indicated that Dymax was his first and only choice for his internship. Callan explained that he chose to intern at Dyamx due to a prior family connection with company leadership and the company’s relevance to his areas of interest. By choosing to intern at Dymax, Callan was the only Fall 2020 student who elected to intern within a manufacturing setting.
Callan worked at Dymax about every other day for most of the school year after working through program assignments for the first month of the semester. At Dymax, Callan not only had the opportunity to observe the company’s manufacturing and supply chain processes, but was involved in several important projects, including tracking and labeling inventory, building improved storage spaces, assisting in the manufacturing process, and doing extensive research and developing a spreadsheet for future use in a tree shear size selection guide.
Callan cited that interning at Dymax “really showed me a broader picture of the [manufacturing] industry,” a field that is particularly relevant to his career goals. Callan is planning to attend K-State Polytechnic to study electrical and computer engineering technology; this degree program often leads to careers in controls engineering. He says that being involved in the manufacturing process at Dymax has helped him better envision the future of electrical systems and automation in manufacturing.
Callan will be continuing as an intern at Dymax during his final semester of high school. He will begin studying at K-State Polytechnic this fall.
