When Antigone Sharris, from Triton College in Illinois, said she would host an NFPA Student Career Connections event, I knew the event would be successful. If you’ve met Antigone, you know that she is an incredibly passionate, energetic and positive Chair and faculty member in the Triton College Engineering Technology Department. She promotes careers in fluid power, manufacturing and engineering better than many expensive ad campaigns could. Why? Because she gives students the opportunity to work with materials hands-on, and sometimes the materials she gives them are nothing more than cardboard, tape and glue. She teaches them to be creative, problem-solve and never say “I can’t do it.”
On May 8, Frank Holthouse, a teacher at Leyden High School’s Industrial Technology Department, brought thirty students to Triton for an NFPA Student Career Connections event. Bob Hammond is a force of his own. He is the Manifold/Systems Engineering Manager at NFPA Member, Deltrol Fluid Products, in Bellwood, IL. Bob has never said no to me when I have asked for his help in connecting with students to get them interested in fluid power. He works with Antigone and often hires Triton students for internships at Deltrol. So, when I asked him to speak to and work with the students from Leyden High School on this day, he never even paused before saying “Yes.”
Together, Antigone, Bob and Frank spoke to the students about careers in fluid power and why this pathway is a great decision that leads to many promising opportunities. They worked with the students in building a hydraulic robotic arm. During this three hour event (that included pizza), the interaction was so positive that the students became very interested and were asking questions.
If you’ve never met Antigone or Bob, you should. And, by the way, Antigone will take any materials or components that you don’t want anymore!
Help us to get more students interested in fluid power. Contact Lynn Beyer at 414-345-0365 or lbeyer@nfpa.com to host a Student Career Connections event.
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