Students participate in FlexFactor to learn about advanced manufacturing
Jefferson Township juniors and seniors had the opportunity to work with Julie Huckaba from Sinclair Community College to participate in FlexFactor, a program by NextFlex and funded by the Department of Defense.
This project-based learning experience provided students with an opportunity to gain knowledge about careers in advanced manufacturing. Student teams identified a world problem and developed an advanced hardware product that would be a solution to the problem. Teams also developed a business model for their product and a presentation to share their innovations, pitching their ideas Shark-Tank style to a panel of local business, education and community professionals.
Jefferson Township started with five teams competing to see who would make it to the regional competition. One of Jefferson Township’s student teams earned a spot to present their business model and product at the Sinclair FlexFactor Regional finals on April 29. Many prominent members of Sinclair Community College attended the event and Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted gave the opening remarks for the competition.
The team was comprised of Tyra Saunders (senior), Karllee Watts (senior), and Nevaeh Woodruff ( junior). These students shared their innovation of Pet Safe, an improved spin on a pet tracking device. They competed against nine teams from other schools in the region. Allison Messer, guidance counselor at Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School, accompanied the team to the competition. Although the team did not place in the top three, it was a wonderful experience and opened their eyes to future career opportunities. First place students each received $500 scholarships through the Sinclair Community Outreach Grant.