What's So Cool About Manufacturing 2026

Berks Business Education Coalition Executive Director Terri Hill discusses the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing program with Karen Buck, Director, Workforce Initiatives, Manufacturers Resource Center, and Kevin Adams, WSCM Teacher Coach from Exeter School District.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Hi, I'm Terry Hill, the Executive Director of the Burks Business Education Coalition, and thank you for tuning in and listening in to one of our podcasts where we feature people, programs, and partnerships in our community that benefit our students on their career readiness journeys. Today, I always say I'm excited, and I truly am excited today. I have a program here that we're highlighting that uh the BBEC is intimately involved with and has been since its inception. And uh we are here today with Karen Buck from the Manufacturers Resource Center and Kevin Adams, who's a teacher at Exeter. So I'm gonna turn it over to Karen first, if you can not only reintroduce yourself, but also talk about your career journey, how you got from wherever you started, like say high school, on to where you are here in a short period of time. And then we'll have the same at you, Kevin.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Thank you, Terry. Thank you so much for having us today. We're really excited about being here. Uh Karen Buck, I'm director of workforce initiatives at Manufacturers Resource Center. Um let's see. My um, I guess I would say in high school, I love math and science and thought I'd better be an engineer. So I pursued my career in engineering, and I spent a few years after I graduated with a manufacturer or with a mechanical engineering degree. I worked in hydraulics for a few years here on the east side of Pennsylvania, and then moved to St. Louis actually to help run a student organization for high school students, did a lot of training and fundraising, and then moved back. I'm a boomerang, uh moved back to the area and ended up raising a few boys and getting a job with Manufacturers Resource Center, which is an organization that serves our manufacturers in our five-county region. And what I do at MRC and what our team does at MRC is we create uh programs and resources that introduce the exciting world of manufacturing to K-12 students.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Thank you so much. I really like that. Kevin, it's your turn.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Hi, thank you, Terry. Uh I am an Exeter graduate. When I was in school, I was uh very interested in writing and grammar, and I was told that I was uh I was good at writing. Um I didn't want to necessarily pursue being a writer, but I wanted to do something that uh allowed me to pass on my love and um interest in that. And I went to uh the University of Delaware to be uh as an English education major. And um when it came time to uh find a job, I was at home. I applied for jobs in Berks County and ended up getting an interview at Exeter, and I've been there ever since. This is my 26th year. Um I am a seventh and eighth grade computer applications teacher, so if you wonder how that happened. Um Yeah, that doesn't sound like English. I'm just uh initially I was teaching a class where students were writing a research paper. So that was the English component. And we would go to the computer lab um a few times a year to do research and to create a PowerPoint at the end of the process. And I enjoyed that aspect of it. Um my administrators knew that I um had a talent with computers as well, and um it kind of naturally turned into more of a computer class, and I've been teaching that ever since. So uh and kind of evolving it um as it goes too. So um now we have we do a little bit of coding in there as well as working with um the different applications that they have on their Chromebook. Once upon a time, we worked with the the machines that we had in our computer lab, and we worked with whatever software was on them. But it's it's just really evolved, and uh I'm glad that I have the freedom to um teach them what I I think is most relevant to them to be prepared for their future.

unknown 4:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

Well, I find it really interesting because I know a lot of people, what because Peter, when computers were first introduced into the classroom, there was no computer teaching certificate. And a lot of what I felt was uh the math seemed to be where the people came from. It was it was kind of that math side, not the not the English. So I find that interesting that they they uh they found a person who has it had a different pathway there, you know, and into it, and it brings a really different point of view into that um into that kind of curriculum. So thanks for thanks for doing that. Um so today, specifically, one of the programs that the MRC has uh introduced to our community and beyond, right? Um, is called What's So Cool About Manufacturing. And Karen, not only are you director of workforce initiatives at Where You Are, you are, I believe, co-founder. I am. You are co-founder of this program. So can you tell me about the origin of it? Like how did it get started? What was it, what question was it trying to answer, what problem was it trying to solve?

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Absolutely. So um as I mentioned, MRC is a nonprofit organization that works with our manufacturers and and basically we um we meet with our uh we there's about 2,000 manufacturers in our five county region, Burks County, Schuylkill, Carbon Lehigh, and Northampton County. That's a lot of companies. And we um we are there to provide whatever it is that they need in order to compete and grow as an organization. So that a lot of times that would be training or certifications or funding sources. Um we do a lot of forums, really a lot with um advanced manufacturing technologies. Uh but about 13, 14 years ago, what our manufacturers were saying is they needed a skilled workforce. And um, and that was when MRC got in this space of youth engagement, K-12. Um, and and really it was uh we thought that uh there wasn't enough talent in the pipeline for our manufacturers because there was an image problem about manufacturing careers and facilities and workspaces. So we thought if we could show the community the inside of our manufacturing companies, that they would really uh be excited about the new technologies and the career pathways that exist. And so we came up, a group of us uh 13 years ago came up with an idea of like, let's have a video competition and let's make it middle school so parents learn too, and let's make it middle school so that kids learn about manufacturing career pathways before they make choices for high school. We we certainly wanted our students to recognize that we have some excellent career and technical high schools in our region, really some of the best in the state and country. And um and so we wanted uh seventh and eighth graders to learn about their career and technical schools, and we also wanted them to, uh if they weren't going that pathway, we wanted them to take advantage of all the great STEM classes at their high school. And so that's what we do. It's a middle school video competition. Every middle school that participates is partnered with an area manufacturer, and they're gonna going to be making profile videos of their partnered company and introducing our community, um, collectively introducing our community to the many jobs and careers and the things that we make right here in our region.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

And how many years have you been doing this in Berks County?

SPEAKER_01 8:13

In Berks County, this is our tenth year, and we just celebrated at an awards event, which is a culmination of our very long program for our schools. They worked very, very hard over a seven-month timeline. Um, and we celebrated 10 years this past year. And actually, Kevin, um, we're was Exeter, is this Exeter's eighth year?

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Eighth year, yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yes, so you have always been the teacher coach, the teacher advisor at Exeter. So um really, really wonderful that Kevin could be with us today.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

And one quick question before we go to Kevin. Um, can you please tell, because I I think this is very much a pride point, how many schools participate in the Burke School Google and how that compares with other regions?

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Absolutely. So 13 years, um it wasn't long after the program was started 13 years ago that we started moving across the state, and other organizations wanted to adopt the program. So we have 13 regional programs in Pennsylvania, and this past year we trained another six states outside of Pennsylvania to also adopt our um what's so cool about manufacturing program for their state. And in Berks County, um we have 36 middle schools in Berks and Schuylkill County, and this year 33 of the 36 middle schools participated. So we are the largest contest in the state, um, and actually a few of our teams will be advancing to statewide awards in a few weeks. But I would say uh for 33 middle schools, each having a partnered manufacturer, that's a lot of awareness. Um, and so hopefully, as students and parents and um educators drive to work and pass the manufacturers, they can now um they're now familiar with what we make and what are the career opportunities inside.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

I'd ask you this question, but I know the answer, so I'm gonna say it because on stage I had uh the privilege of being a part of the ceremony, and my my whole section was how many videos are currently residing on the website over the past 10 years. And there's, in case anybody wants to check it out, 296 separate videos that have been created uh by the students about our manufacturers in the community. So it's really a lot of different perspectives. Uh so Kevin, you've been doing this for eight years. So can you talk about what was what motivated you to step up and into the program and then what's kept you to continue it? And then we will delve into I know you have a really cool student story, so if you can just talk about your journey though as to why you why you participate.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

I was running an A V club at at the school, um, and I was we were just doing silly little projects most of the time, and um it wasn't necessarily it wasn't a lot of direction. It was it was just hey, who's interested in video editing and so on, because I always have been. And um my principal at the time, um Dr. Eric Flam came to me and uh told me about this program, said the superintendent had had informed him about it, and uh it seemed like it would be something that would be good for my my club to uh to attempt. And I, as I said, I've I've essentially lived my whole life in Berks County um besides college, and I had no idea of all of these manufacturers in this area. I was one of those kids who thought, okay, after high school you go to college. That's what you do. Um and I I it never dawned on me that because I I it was not my path. I didn't go to the the uh technology centers, um, career and technology centers. I I didn't have um that sort of uh uh lineage, I guess. And it has opened my eyes to so many different careers. Uh every time I go uh on one of these visits with with the kids, I I am so um happy for them that they get to see what types of careers are out there that might require a college degree, might require no debt whatsoever, but they might be able to get a job while they're still in high school and and work their way up. And um it really um it it just it makes me so proud that they they're a part of this because it can lead to something amazing for them that they might not have considered previously. Uh and that's what makes me stick around is is getting to see that um and and and knowing that they have that um a new possibility uh for for something that they might pursue as a career.

SPEAKER_02 13:06

Was were there any um ideas or preconceptions you had going into uh for yourself about what manufacturing is and what you saw, like what was what was dispelled, what was what did you learn that probably just totally changed your perception?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Aaron Powell Yeah, I think I think that a lot of people just they hear manufacturing and they think it's it's dirty, it's loud, it's um I I I'm not trying to be like disrespectful or anything, but like it like grunt work or whatever. But there's so many different things that if if you want to work with your hands, you can work with your hands. If you want to um sorry, I have an alarm for when I need to close my shade when there's students in the hallway after lunch. So I don't know if that was coming through or not, but I was feeling it. Um I I yeah, I I had the the preconceptions um and and I and I thought that it I found out very quickly how wrong I was. Um just and it was just plain ignorance, of course. Um and and and I I feel like that there there are probably a lot of kids that that look at it that way, unless they have a parent or an adult in their life who is in manufacturing, they don't know what it really is either, and how much technology plays into it and and and the um how how the the office works hand in hand with with the people on the floor, and and it just it it's just really amazing to me um how many opportunities there are. And uh yeah, so I definitely had the uh preconception that uh manufacturing was was dirty and loud and and maybe not for everybody. But we had a quote in our in our video this year that that really, as soon as this employee said it, um I was like, oh, that that's going in the video. Um she said, um uh the the the guys are nice and it is a female job too. And to hear that too, I think that that can be uh inspiring to to a lot of um girls who think that, well, this isn't for me, this is for guys in hard hats or whatever. And again, it's all it's all ignorance, and and that's what this, you know, the education portion of this is about, and and it's I think it's great.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

So I don't know if this is the time, but I think it is. Can you share? You have in front of you your phone, which we know we don't like people having their phones out with this because it's distracting. But on your phone, you have a message from one of the students that participated in the program who shared what they got out of it or what it meant to them. So I, you know, if you can bring it up and kind of share that with us, I think that'd be really powerful too.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

I've been very fortunate over the past couple of years that I've had a couple of students who were in the program for two years and asked if they could come back and like be like an intern type thing, um, an assistant teacher coach type thing, because they they knew it. And and and I had a student who knew that I was going to have an all-new crew this year, and she asked me at the end of last school year if she could like kind of help coach them because she's been there, which that in and of itself was that was really touching, um, that she had that foresight and and cared that much. Um and and this year um she asked if she could come to the awards, and uh and she did, and she said, I have I have a letter for you. I wrote it. This is a handwritten letter from a ninth grader. And so I'm not gonna read the whole thing. Um, but uh she said, This is uh since this is my last year doing A V club. Unfortunately, I wish I could do this forever. I thought I would write you a letter as a thank you. Um I wanted to thank you for inspiring me and introducing me to a possible career path that actually interests me. I'm so grateful to have taken part in all of the what's so cool about manufacturing competitions and even help us get to states one year. Um she goes on about like specific things that uh other activities that she was involved in and says uh if you ever need any extra help with A V club, advertising, voting, um, anything at all, you can always message me and I will be happy I will be happy if I uh to help if I'm not busy. And uh I just thought it was very sweet and it it made um you know because this is a this can be very taxing for the students and and the teacher coaches. And um and to to see that at the end of it all was uh it it really I mean I I'm emotional talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

I I it it just shows the uh impact that a program and I think working with you probably had on this individual. So thank you for what you've done. Um I do want to uh shift a little bit. There was one story that came out in the 10-year celebration um and it was Joseph's story, um, which is a little bit different. It's about a student who is who has taken a different path, but it's all because of what's so cool about manufacturing that got them on this journey. So can you just give a little bit of synopsis of Joseph's story?

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Absolutely. Um so uh Joseph uh 10 years ago was a um middle school student at Easton Area Middle School, and he was on a what's so cool team with Mr. Dorney, and they were partnered with Victoric, and they created a video um to show the community what's so cool about manufacturing, careers, and technology at Victalic. And um he was his really his story is that that experience was so um pivotal for him as he considered his own career path. And he actually um and the you know Kevin talks about the commitment from the from the teacher coaches, you know, it's a huge commitment. The program does not happen without the commitment of our of all of our teachers and educators to students, but also to learning about careers. And Mr. Dorney uh was the same way, and that left such an impact on him as he learned about manufacturing and worked with his um teacher that he decided to go into teaching. And so years later, um he is now a first-year teacher at what of one of our Reading uh middle schools, and he is a teacher coach for What's So Cool About Manufacturing. So we have an we had an opportunity at the awards event to listen to his story and to see how What's So Cool About Manufacturing actually impacted his decision making and going into education.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

So it's it's it's broader than um what um the initial was uh talking about um industry, but it's also introduced them to other career possibilities. So I really applaud the program in what it's been able to do. Um I did, I'm gonna ask you, Kevin, uh you were uh one of many teachers that were recognized on a very general scale since it was a 10-year celebration. Uh I want to say of the 33 schools that participated, there are probably at least half the teachers that um have done more than five years or more in this program. So once they commit, they they tend to continue on. Is that about right? About 50 percent?

SPEAKER_01 20:28

I would say it's more than half.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Okay. Yeah, more than half. So I'm gonna ask Kevin, did you stand when we when we asked you to stand at the ceremony? I'm I'm sure I did. Uh I don't know. I'm not so sure. We'll just I I'm sure you did. And if you go two more years, you get a yeti. So um just keep keep going. On stage. On stage. You get to come up on stage and get a yeti. You get it you get a what's so cool yeti. A what's so cool yeti?

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Oh, didn't you? It changes everything.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Changes everything. There's it's not a watch, but it's a yeti. Uh so it's it's it shows the power of the program. And uh to back up, and we talked about this prior to coming in here, um, in Berks County, um manufacturing is by far our largest industry sector for employment. And there is workforce development research that shows that there's going to be a need in that industry to build the pipeline. So I applaud the program for introducing this to our students at this pivotal age when they are making those long-term decisions as to what they're gonna study and work for, and also prove it's there's so many jobs within manufacturing. It doesn't have to be the floor work, there's also the accounting, HR, those other support departments. Marketing, research and development, so many job opportunities. So let me, I'm gonna say research and development. You know the company that was really excited, I was excited about research and development, Sweet Street. Because they have a kitchen, like just saying, if you ever want to see they have a kitchen and it's a good RD job, however, that's a really fun R D job. Over there. So there's there's so many really interesting opportunities that our local manufacturers and it's it is amazing to see how many there are. There's so many unknowns. There's ones that I pass every day, and I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, okay, they're there, there. But there's other ones that are like a jewel. And I'm like, what you make helicopter? Like the honeycomb design that goes in helicopter wings. And I'm like, you know, or blades, I don't just certain things that you just don't even think about, but they're they're made and manufactured in Berks and Schoko County. So it's it's really fabulous. So as we're getting ready to wrap up, I just want to give you both an opportunity to share anything that maybe I didn't cover in our question and answer, something that you would like the general public to know. And we're going to end it all with like how can anybody else support or get involved, or what would you recommend if anybody's interested in this program?

SPEAKER_01 22:51

So anything that I missed? Actually, I wanted to just say um two things. First, um, every year when a school uh registers, they are partnered with a new manufacturer, and every manufacturer is then partnered with a new school, and that really hits the overarching purpose, which is to strengthen business relationships between business and education so that they can continue to work together if they have an opportunity. Which brings me to the BBEC, which uh we would not be here today celebrating 10 years without the partnership of BBEC, who uh traveled all the way to Lehigh County to check out, very skeptically check out this program, What's So Cool About Manufacturing, and came back and actually had a little funding that they decided to send MRCs way so we could get started in Berks County. So it's really been a wonderful partnership with BBEC. Um but uh Kevin hit the something that I think is really unique about this program is that we incentivize the student teams to share their finished video with the entire community. So it really is a career awareness program, not just for the middle school team that's participating or and maybe not even for their school community, but for the greater community at large, we want the greater community to learn. So we do an online voting for uh like an like an American Idol voting. And this year, in our three days of online voting, um I believe there were 160,000 votes. So it really went viral in our in our community, and we're thankful for that.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

I I really appreciate that. I do know there was one school that had the most um, I guess they were able to get the word out the most and had the most, collected the most votes. They do get an award for that. I think it was Blue Mountain. Does that sound right? Yeah, Blue Mountain. So shout out to Blue Mountain for getting the word out. Um is there anything, Kevin, from your perspective and you being a teacher and um that you'd like to share? Um, you know, because I I think and as an outsider, I there's a challenge from what the kids are exposed to and what the parents ha still have ideas about, you know, within our community. So have you seen the program like allow the parents to see another side of education? Has that also gone on? So have they seen another side of manufacturing? Do you think it's kind of changed?

SPEAKER_00 25:10

I I've I've definitely had students who say, Oh, I showed this to my my family, and they they didn't know. Because like I said earlier, um I've driven by many of these places before, and I've I've had no idea what goes on in there. And and so the the fact that all the videos are available online, and and as soon as like we really pushed for the online voting, the kids are watching other videos too. I'm like, no, you need to watch Exodus. But but they're there's so many that that are that are entertaining, or they know someone who like I had someone on my team this year who had uh transferred from Twin Valley. Our company, Morgan uh Truckbody, that we were partnered with this year, is is in that area. And and she so she was, oh I I know that, and my or my uncle worked there or something like that. So so there's always connections being made, um, and I believe that the the kids are sharing it with uh just be beyond the school for sure. Um specifically, have have parents um spoke spoken to me about uh a change of perception. I'm not sure, but they they they do um talk to me about like how uh how this experience has opened the kids' eyes about other opportunities and and uh beyond I'm going to be in the NBA or I'm going to be a professional streamer or whatever. Influencer. Yes, yes. Um the real jobs, real opportunities that are right here in Berks County and and beyond that can lead to all kinds of things. So I I I know that they're appreciative of that.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

So thank you for for participating so long. I I look forward to seeing you next year um in the program. Um Karen, anything that you want to share with our audience? We're wrapping up now, how they can either I know voting, of course, but is there anything else that you can recommend if they want to get involved?

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Absolutely. So on whatsocool.org, there is a digital library, it's interactive, and um after 13 years of a Pennsylvania program, there are over 1,400 student-created videos that feature over 700 Pennsylvania manufacturers. So uh we certainly want folks to tap into that and um use it for career learning and to learn about the companies that are writing your community. Um there's a lot of great storytelling, a lot of careers, a lot of technology that are included in those educational videos that the students created. Um the second thing is I I just have to do a huge shout out to our school districts. It is a very big program. And Kevin downplayed it, like you know, this is a you know, it almost sounds easy when he talks about it. But it's not. It's a big, it's a big commitment from our teachers and um and needs the support of the school and district administrator. And that's why this program is the largest in the state, is because of our school districts and how they've committed to this program for career learning and a project-based experience for their students. Um and then finally, uh our manufacturers, they they need to connect to schools, so we're thankful when they they jump up and want to partner with our school communities. Um, but the program doesn't happen without a whole lot of community sponsors. So uh if you're at the awards event, you know it takes an entire community to make this happen. And um and we are very thankful for the community.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

I wish we would have had the award. Um that's the one thing we do touch on. So it was so heavy. So yeah, it was very heavy. Um but each year the award is created um by the precision teams uh machine precision. Precision machine technology tools technology at the Career and Technology Centers. And it it it floats. I think this past year was Reading Muhlenberg, CTC. Next year will be ERC's BCTC. Yeah, BCTC, and then next year, the following year would be Schuogle. So they've done a great job. So I wish we would have had that because that was very large and awesome. Yeah. Um Kevin, any last words?

SPEAKER_00 29:04

See you next year. See you next year.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

Okay, thank you. So I want to thank Karen and Kevin. Thank you both for joining me today and sharing your passion. I I think you're you are so in uniquely position, Kevin, specifically, because you have an interest in video production, which most teachers do not have that background. Um, and it makes you an even bigger asset for your students and you like storytelling, so I can I can see that. So thank you for doing that. Karen, it's always a joy to work with you and your team. You have everything nailed down, buttoned up, and and it well packaged. And I'm congratulations on your growth into the states outside of Pennsylvania. Um to our viewers, thank you so much for tuning in and listening about this really just powerful program, the What's So Cool About Manufacturing. Uh, check out the website in order to learn more about what our local industry has available to both products and also uh opportunities uh for careers within our within our community. So I want to thank you for tuning in and uh look forward to seeing you again at the Burks Business Education Coalition. Thanks again.