Students from Hudson, NH watched a virtual tour of the AWC facility on Oct 29 and saw the CNC machine in action.
On Friday, October 29, Saúl Martín of Architectural Woodworking Company (AWC) provided a live virtual tour of AWC’s manufacturing facility for a group of 7th grade students in Hudson, New Hampshire. The students saw machinery in action including the CNC machine and the shaper. They also saw shop drawings and parts for some complex AWC projects. Martín explained how the CNC machine worked by using a skateboard blank and finished product as an example, which was a tangible concept for the students. “The shop tour was informative for our students,” says Hudson School District Career Development Coordinator Richard Paiva. “And highlighting the skateboard was a huge plus as the students can relate to it directly.”
According to Paiva, the session was part of a year long career exploration unit called “Exploring Your Future” with October being Manufacturing month. There were 6 classes with about 120 students total participating. The students visited 6 local companies onsite and attended two virtual sessions (including this one).
In addition to the facility tour, AWFS staff Adria Salvatore and Adam Kessler provided a presentation about careers in the wood industry, highlighting images of factories and finished products from companies in New England. Careers in CAD and CNC were also emphasized, and Kessler shared about his time working at Datesweiser and related furniture manufacturing careers. “We believe it is critical to connect with students in middle school to share about careers in the wood industry,” says Martín. “I was honored to show the students the AWC facility and talk about manufacturing careers.”
The event was organized through Nepris, a program that connects industry guest speakers with schools. Any industry professional can sign up for free on Nepris, and schools will reach out directly to request and coordinate guest speaking. Nepris conducts a background check for all speakers and assists with all technical support for the session.
If you have questions or would like to learn more, contact Adria Salvatore at adria@awfs.org