A two-minute video changed the mindset of 11 Pennsylvania students toward manufacturing, specifically in the hot tub industry.
Through their work with the Strong Spas manufacturing facility in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, the news media class at nearby Danville Middle School won the Central Susquehanna district’s 2022 Outstanding Team Spirit award in the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest.
Based on the engagement he witnessed during their time at the facility, Timothy Lust, director of manufacturing for Strong Spas, understands why the Danville students won the Outstanding Team Spirit award.
“The team of students were highly focused at each level of the project,” he says. “It was great to see the curiosity and energy the students had in watching a product go from a raw material to a high-end item like a hot tub. Their attentiveness and level of questions truly showed their interest in the manufacturing process and the video project.”
Students in each district of this statewide competition are charged with creating a two-minute video profiling a local manufacturing company. The goal is to change students’ perceptions about manufacturing careers and help them see the value of manufacturing industries.
As students spend hours planning, filming and editing various parts of the manufacturing process, they meet people at every level of the industry, from management to marketing and more.
DMS news media class instructor Corey Lombardo says the project helps students realize there’s more than one pathway to what they want to do.
“Most of the students are very academic students who didn’t have any interest in manufacturing,” Lombardo says. “The biggest thing they discovered is that there are hundreds of jobs that aren’t what you normally think of when you think of manufacturing.”
The students’ video not only showcased the process of making hot tubs at Strong Spas, but also the teamwork that pervades company culture. For example, during filming, students witnessed a routine daily production meeting, which was closed with the staff cheer: “Strong, quality, safety!”
“We let the students know this is every day at Strong Spas,” Lust says. “The students embraced that mindset and brought it into their project. We feel that helped drive home the Team Spirit Award they received.”
For Strong Spas, that team spirit extends beyond the walls of the facility. The company values community involvement and education.
“We recognize that our local student body,” Lust says, “is the future for manufacturing in our area and our company.”
See the video
Visit bit.ly/3vbOIyj to find Danville Middle School’s video, along with other winning entries