Machines hum, metal sparks and concentration fills every corner of the room. It is midnight, but nothing is still inside the walls of Metalcraft of Mayville. Amongst the production, a Moraine Park student is hard at work fueling his passion and igniting his career.

Mason Higgins, of West Bend, was first introduced to welding while attending West Bend East High School. He took all the manufacturing courses available to him through the Start College Now program including Intro to Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing, Intro to Welding, Advanced Welding and a Manufacturing Capstone. He is 18, in his first year at MPTC and only a few credits shy of a college degree.

The Start College Now program enables high school students to enroll in occupational/technical courses and/or general education courses and earn high school and college credit at the same time.

“I was told by a couple of family members about welding and after looking at pictures and information online, I really wanted to try sticking some metal together,” Higgins said. “I took Intro to Welding as a high school freshman and after hours of welding time, I knew for certain this would be my career.”

Higgins began working at Metalcraft of Mayville as part of his high school’s Youth Apprenticeship program. Now, he works full-time, five nights a week from 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. while taking courses at Moraine Park.

“The opportunities I got from Moraine Park’s partnership with my high school have helped me get ahead financially,” Higgins said. “I was able to start laying the groundwork for my future before graduating. I’m confident and prepared as I move into my next chapter.”

Higgins is enrolled in Moraine Park’s Welding program and takes classes at the West Bend Campus. He plans to finish his degree by December. In the future, his goal is to start his own portable welding business. He is already rebuilding a trailer to support an additional welder, an oxyfuel cutting set-up, tools and other essentials.

“My favorite part of welding is passing the bend test because it gives you such a good feeling knowing the weld actually did its job,” Higgins said. “Later, I look forward to the feeling of satisfaction knowing that I’ve built and repaired things that people are happy with, whatever the product may be.”

Read more stories like Mason’s in our Spring 2022 NEXT Magazine.

Moraine Park’s student-run restaurant, Park Terrace, unveiled updates to the restaurant including a new sign crafted by the Welding Club.

Park Terrace is a student learning lab for the Culinary Arts program. The students take turns overseeing and running various aspects of the restaurant to get a complete on-the-job culinary experience.

The update included new furniture, place settings, art, and more.

The new Park Terrace sign, hung right inside the restaurant’s entrance, was made by students in the Welding Club. The students worked on the sign for about a month, going through four versions using different metals before creating the final product.

To thank the Welding Club for their work on the sign, Culinary Instructor, James Simmers, and his students cooked and served them a private steak lunch in the restaurant.

On April 21, 2022, MPTC West Bend Electricity Instructor Gus Boyle-Gustavus and her students hosted Washington County Boys and Girls Club scholars in grades 5-11 for a fun, interactive Dream Big event.

The Dream Big project started in 2017 with Boys and Girls Clubs of Fond du Lac and Tri-County Area teens learning more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. Each semester, Moraine Park students showcase their program and make a true community impact for area teens to get excited about career choices!

West Bend Boys and Girls Club Teen Program Director Ashlyn Poling said, “Our teen members loved partnering up with the Electricity students from Moraine Park Technical College. We are always looking for opportunities to inspire our youth and encourage learning new skills, and this Electricity Event allowed us to do just that! Thank you MPTC!” Ashlyn herself got to wire up a circuit to turn on a lightbulb and had great fun! Electricity Instructor Gus said, “What an awesome event! Our Electricity students each partnered up with a BGC scholar and had a blast! I was so impressed with each of our students’ teaching, mentoring and patience skills to do this 2-hour activity with teens. I surprised them today with this event and they all came through!”

For more info on Electricity at MPTC.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we are highlighting Moraine Park HVAC student, Aspyn Koslowski of West Bend. Koslowski found Moraine Park through her passion for robotics and engineering. She is in her first year and has already become a leader on campus.

Koslowski attended the University School of Milwaukee where she was captain of the robotics team for two years, leading the team to several championships. Through this role, she was inspired to pursue a trade.

“I originally wanted to go to a university for engineering, but I was not impressed with the programs and really wanted a hands-on experience,” Koslowski said. “My time on my high school’s robotics team taught me a lot about wiring and I really loved it. I chose MPTC’s HVAC program because of the mechanical and electrical engineering aspect, and it really encompassed everything I wanted to do.”

She decided to join Moraine Park’s West Bend Student Senate to try something new and get involved on campus. Since joining, Koslowski was elected president and has excelled as a leader on campus, enacting change and creating community.

“My main goal as President of West Bend’s Student Senate is to help make this place feel like a home for people,” Koslowski said. “The world right now isn’t exactly the most peaceful place, and there is a lot of uncertainty. I just want people to feel like they can come to campus and have a positive experience that they look forward to.”

Outside of her courses and extracurriculars, Koslowski works as a small engine mechanic at Barton Small Engine in West Bend. Recently, she used her coursework to fix a seemingly unfixable torpedo heater, impressing her boss and peers.

“To any woman who is nervous about entering a male-dominated field like HVAC, you can absolutely do it,” Koslowski said. “If you are confident in yourself and in your craft, that is worth more than anyone else’s opinion about what you can or cannot be. People can underestimate me all they want, but I am confident in what I can do, I know I can do it well, and I let my work speak for itself.”

Moraine Park Technical College student, Austin Seidel of West Bend, earned third place at the 2021 National SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference during the week of June 21.

Seidel, an electricity student at the College, competed at the regional conference last April in the Industrial Motor Controls category. He earned first place- advancing him to nationals. More than 16,000 students from across the nation participated in the weeklong event.

SkillsUSA is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Their philosophy is to reward students for excellence, involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and keep training relevant to employers’ needs.

morainepark.edu

Moraine Park Technical College students from both the CNC Tool and Die and Electricity clubs participated virtually in the 2021 Wisconsin SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference during the week of April 12.

The CNC Tool and Die Club representatives competed in the Automated Manufacturing Technology category. Participants who earned second place are Alyssa Bidenbender of West Bend, William Fuhrmann of Fond du Lac, and Cole Duehring of West Bend. Pariticpants who earned third place are Logan Kelley of Port Washington, Brady Falk of West Bend, and Phillip Paulus of Fredonia.

Electricity Club representatives competed in the Industrial Motor Controls category and earned a complete sweep of the top three spots. Participants were Austin Seidel of West Bend, first place; Eric Helgeson of Juneau, second place; and, Seth Mckenzie of Sheboygan, third place.

Seidel will represent Moraine Park Technical College at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC), June 21-24. The National event will also be held virtually.

SkillsUSA is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. The philosophy of the event is to reward students for excellence, involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and keep training relevant to employers’ needs. More than 16,000 people are expected to participate in the NLSC weeklong event.

For more information about Moraine Park Technical College, visit morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park’s Water Quality Technology program provides students with the skills and training to perform testing, analysis and treatment to community and industrial water supplies.

Water Quality technicians are responsible for ensuring that the water we use is safe and that discharge water is processed effectively. Their work combines the precision and accuracy found in the biochemical laboratory with operational aptitude and troubleshooting skills.

Each day, municipalities and industries generate billions of gallons of wastewater that must be collected, analyzed and treated.

MPTC’s Program graduates also have employment opportunities as environmental technicians and field service technicians at companies that design and install water treatment equipment for municipalities and manufacturing companies.

Career Opportunities
• Environmental Technician
• Field Service Technician
• Industrial Waste Technician
• Wastewater System Technician
• Water Plant Operator
• Water Treatment Equipment Sales Representative

To add to the above opportunities, there are positions available at breweries as they treat their water and wastewater, at large dairies where they process the milk, food handling companies such as packaging plants, and harvesting companies that process the food like Heinz or pickle producers. Some other areas include bean harvesters and canners, cheese factories, paper mills, and engineering firms as Operations Specialists, where the O&M Specialist helps with some design, writes documents for operators, trains people in processes, and will perform process startup services once built. Some have found work in laboratories, aquariums, pond or lake maintenance and water parks.
Any company involved in water or wastewater operations are all good places that have openings regularly.
So, if you desire a career that is highly sustainable, give Water Quality Technology a try!

Are you interested in a new career in just 3 months? What about earning a college level certificate with hands on training and a PAID internship as part of the deal? Even better- NO TUITION for students! Tuition and materials are covered 100% by a combination of grants and community agency support. No experience necessary and no income limits applied! Check out upcoming opportunities with Moraine Park’s Manufacturing Boot Camps. We offer 3 month training programs in CNC Machining and in Welding where you can earn an entry level certificate and take part in a paid internship at a local business with the opportunity for it to become a full time job offer when you complete the program.

Unsure what Welding and CNC Machining have to offer? Come check us out at our Test Drive on December 9^th where you can tour the labs, participate in a workshop for CNC or Welding and try your hand at creating a project with the help of our instructors. Participating is FREE and you are not obligated to apply or enroll after. Spaces will be limited due to COVID-19 protocols, so please sign up early.

The first step to enrolling in Boot Camps is attending an Information Session, where you will learn more about Boot Camps and next steps. Information sessions will be held in January 2021 and Boot Camps will run March-June 2021. Boot Camps are a full time program for 3 months and run Monday-Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Sign up for an Information session now

Visit www.morainepark.edu/bootcamps to sign up for the Test Drive or for an Information Session to learn more!

Top: SVA President Brad Resler

Right: American Legion Post 36 Member

Members of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) Club teamed up with the West Bend area Sons of Veterans Club and completed a lighting upgrade project for the West Bend American Legion Post 36.

The American Legion Post 36 was in need of upgrading their lighting to save hundreds of dollars in energy each year. At the same time, the SVA Club was searching for ways to help community veterans. That’s when SVA President Brad Resler reached out to an American Legion member and the two clubs teamed up. The upgrade included replacing 75 old, energy consuming florescent fixtures with new, energy efficient LED fixtures.

The project was expected to take about 2 full days to complete. However, with the teamwork of both the SVA and Sons of Veterans, the entire project was completed in one 9-hour day. It was amazing teamwork to benefit a very deserving group of veterans.

The Student Veterans of America Club is open to veterans, and those currently serving, as well as students, faculty, staff, family members and supporters of individuals who have served or currently serving.

SVA members also shown below are: Vice President Jeff Shurpit, Secretary Alex Arendt, Tommy Lee, Joel Schoeneck, Collin Shurpit and Matt Tillman.