OrthoWorx Presents First DiscoverME Since 2020
May 5, 2023 at 9:28 p.m.
OrthoWorx Presents First DiscoverME Since 2020
By Staff Report-
During the week of May 1, DiscoverME engaged all eighth-grade students in the Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko school corporations with manufacturing plant tours and curriculum built into their classes focusing on career opportunities within advanced manufacturing, according to a news release from OrthoWorx.
ME programs introduce students to local industry, showcasing career opportunities and educational pathways for these eighth-grade students in Kosciusko County and the surrounding area. Manufacturing is a central part of Kosciusko County’s economic landscape serving industries including agribusiness, automotive, marine, home furnishings and medical devices – specifically orthopedics. DiscoverME excites students about a range of STEM careers and introduces manufacturing at a pivotal time when students are planning high school coursework and begin exploring career interests.
DiscoverME was launched in 2018 with approximately 1,100 eighth-graders from Kosciusko County participating in this National Manufacturing Week-related program created by OrthoWorx and a team of summer interns.
“OrthoWorx and industry partners saw so much success from DiscoverME, that we began planning out other ME opportunities, like RealME that we launched with all Kosciusko County sophomores in 2019,” said Nichole S. Rouached, director of talent at OrthoWorx. “Unfortunately, we had to move to a virtual program once the pandemic broke out, as we couldn’t provide tours of local companies, but this ultimately led to us creating more lessons to showcase advanced manufacturing and our local industry. To our surprise, students remained highly engaged and our data showed that students still sustained a 70% greater awareness of local industry and career opportunities following participation in the virtual program.”
Kosciusko County schools and OrthoWorx continued to recover and regroup in 2021-22, and DiscoverME was paused until this school year, where tours to all corporate partners could be possible again.
Local companies featured as tour stops this year included DePuy Synthes, Instrumental Machine & Development (IMD), Paragon Medical, Polywood, Precision Medical Technologies (PreMed Tec), Medartis and Zimmer Biomet. The students also toured Ivy Tech Community College’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC) and their high school’s designated career centers. The Warsaw Area Career Center (WACC), Wawasee’s Pathways and the Whitko Career Academy offer a variety of programs to support the demands of local industry. Students, while still in high school, can enroll in programs that help prepare them for entry into the workforce or support their next step in higher education, often times with support of their employer, helping eliminate the debt that can accumulate with higher education for students.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our local partners and funders for enabling us to resume these pivotal educational partnerships and even expand on opportunities that excite our youth about the range of manufacturing and STEM careers they can find in their backyards,” Rouached said. “Resuming DiscoverME and building our OrthoWorx team to include a new full-time Talent Coordinator Erin Serafino to support our K-12 initiatives like ME signals just the beginning for how we can support schools, educators, industry and our future workforce.”
Bob Vitoux, OrthoWorx president and CEO said, “We are thrilled to be back alongside our industry, education and community partners with the relaunch of the DiscoverME program and tremendously excited about what lies ahead for the Orthopedic Capital of the World® as we work together advancing the talent and innovation needed for future success.”
During the week of May 1, DiscoverME engaged all eighth-grade students in the Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko school corporations with manufacturing plant tours and curriculum built into their classes focusing on career opportunities within advanced manufacturing, according to a news release from OrthoWorx.
ME programs introduce students to local industry, showcasing career opportunities and educational pathways for these eighth-grade students in Kosciusko County and the surrounding area. Manufacturing is a central part of Kosciusko County’s economic landscape serving industries including agribusiness, automotive, marine, home furnishings and medical devices – specifically orthopedics. DiscoverME excites students about a range of STEM careers and introduces manufacturing at a pivotal time when students are planning high school coursework and begin exploring career interests.
DiscoverME was launched in 2018 with approximately 1,100 eighth-graders from Kosciusko County participating in this National Manufacturing Week-related program created by OrthoWorx and a team of summer interns.
“OrthoWorx and industry partners saw so much success from DiscoverME, that we began planning out other ME opportunities, like RealME that we launched with all Kosciusko County sophomores in 2019,” said Nichole S. Rouached, director of talent at OrthoWorx. “Unfortunately, we had to move to a virtual program once the pandemic broke out, as we couldn’t provide tours of local companies, but this ultimately led to us creating more lessons to showcase advanced manufacturing and our local industry. To our surprise, students remained highly engaged and our data showed that students still sustained a 70% greater awareness of local industry and career opportunities following participation in the virtual program.”
Kosciusko County schools and OrthoWorx continued to recover and regroup in 2021-22, and DiscoverME was paused until this school year, where tours to all corporate partners could be possible again.
Local companies featured as tour stops this year included DePuy Synthes, Instrumental Machine & Development (IMD), Paragon Medical, Polywood, Precision Medical Technologies (PreMed Tec), Medartis and Zimmer Biomet. The students also toured Ivy Tech Community College’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC) and their high school’s designated career centers. The Warsaw Area Career Center (WACC), Wawasee’s Pathways and the Whitko Career Academy offer a variety of programs to support the demands of local industry. Students, while still in high school, can enroll in programs that help prepare them for entry into the workforce or support their next step in higher education, often times with support of their employer, helping eliminate the debt that can accumulate with higher education for students.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our local partners and funders for enabling us to resume these pivotal educational partnerships and even expand on opportunities that excite our youth about the range of manufacturing and STEM careers they can find in their backyards,” Rouached said. “Resuming DiscoverME and building our OrthoWorx team to include a new full-time Talent Coordinator Erin Serafino to support our K-12 initiatives like ME signals just the beginning for how we can support schools, educators, industry and our future workforce.”
Bob Vitoux, OrthoWorx president and CEO said, “We are thrilled to be back alongside our industry, education and community partners with the relaunch of the DiscoverME program and tremendously excited about what lies ahead for the Orthopedic Capital of the World® as we work together advancing the talent and innovation needed for future success.”
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