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Tech Talk: What's New at APA

March / April 2012 

In This Issue
19 Seniors Complete Spring Break Internships
A Letter from APA Sophomores to Matrix Tooling, Inc
The Puzzle Cube Challenge
APA Student takes her experience and creates a new product
APA Students Participate in SkillsUSA State Conference

Thank you! 

Thank you to these partners who through the payment of their membership fees help our program provide high-quality career & technical education for the next generation of leaders in manufacturing:

 

American Mold Builders Assoc. (AMBA) Chicago Chapter

Belden, Inc 

Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. 

C. Cretors & Co. 

Chicago Metal Fabricators 

Chicago Paper Tube & Can Co. 

Columbia Metal Spinning

Cragin Metals

DeCardy Diecasting

Freedman Seating

Graymills Company

Iverson & Company

Label Master

Laystrom Manufacturing Co.

Matrix Tooling, Inc. 

NADCA

Overton Chicago Gear

P-K Tool & Mfrg Co.

Paasche Airbrush Co.

Plymouth Tube Co.  

Quality Control Corp

Saporito Finishing Co. 

Sunstar Americas Inc

Swiss Precision Machining

Tempel Steel 

WaterSaver Faucet  
Winzeler Gear Company


We also receive generous support from:  

The Chicago Community Trust

The JP Morgan Chase Foundation

The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation

The Kendeda Fund

The Kresge Foundation

The Nathan Cummings Foundation

The Polk Brothers Foundation

Surdna Foundation   

Society for Manufacturing   Engineers Education Foundation
Tooling and Manufacturing      Association Education Foundation
    

 

For more information about participating in the APA Partner Program, please contact Bill Vogel and Norwin Merens, Industry Coordinators, at [email protected] or [email protected]
Phone:
773.534.6326. 

About Austin Polytech 

Austin Polytechnical Academy is an engineering- and manufacturing-focused and college prep public high school on Chicago's West Side.

Thanks to the support of nearly 60 partner companies, our students learn about the many different career opportunities in manufacturing through field trips, guest speaker visits, job shadowing opportunities, internships, and more.

Austin Polytech's Career Program is a project of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council. Our career program is operated by the Center for Labor and Community Research.

Learn more at austinpolytech.org 

Support our Students 

It takes more than a traditional high school budget to help our students engineer their future.

Please help by sending us a check, payable to the Center for Labor and Community Research, at 3411 West Diversey, Suite 10, Chicago, Illinois 60647.

You can also contribute online securely through PayPal by clicking below:


Your donation is tax deductible. For more information about giving to APA, contact:
Erica Swinney, Program Director, at [email protected] or 773-534-6326. 

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Contact

Austin Polytechnical Academy
231 N. Pine Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60644


Main Office: (773) 534-6301
Career Services: (773) 534-6326

 

austinpolytech.org 

19 Seniors Complete
Spring Break
Internships
WaterSaver Inc.
    Special thanks to the 14 APA Partners who hosted 19 APA students for Spring Break Internships April 2-6:
Allied Metal Co., Arrow Gear Co., C. Cretors & Co., DeCardy Diecasting Co., Freedman Seating Co., Hudson Precision Products Co., Laystrom Manufacturing Co., Meyer Tool & Mfg. Inc., P-K Tool & Manufacturing, Paasche Airbrush Co., Saporito Finishing Co., Tempel Steel Co., WaterSaver Faucet and Wrightwood Precision
    
According to Industry Coordinator Bill Vogel, support for this year's program -- among partner companies -- increased by nearly 100% compared to the 2011 spring internship effort.  "We recognize that our program is highly desirable and gives APA students an opportunity to make a very favorable impression on partners, all of whom can be prospective employers," he added.   
      Each year, Austin Polytech's Career Dept. works with our 60 Partners to provide a sequence of career exploration and preparation activities: plant tours, job shadowing, NIMS credentials, internships and ultimately the opportunity for career employment.  

 

 Click here to see more pictures from the Spring Break Internships  

A Letter from APA Seniors to
Matrix Tooling, Inc. 
Matrix 
Dear Mr. Ziegenhorn,
On behalf of my Austin Polytech classmates, thank you for the time you and your staff spent showing us around Matrix Tooling during our recent field trip. Based on what we've been learning this past semester in Mrs. Gibney's classroom, we now have an understanding about the production of a brand new surgical device, the Microcutter. Thank you for explaining how you manufacture all the plastic components for this device, which both cuts and staples tissue during laparoscopic procedures. My classmates and I have enjoyed our 10-week Scientific Concepts course at APA. We learned how Matrix Tooling is making contributions to the medical field through manufacturing.  We look forward to staying in touch with you and participating in future job shadows and internships at your company.

Sincerely,

Le'Kesha Bowles & the Scientific Concepts Class

 

The Puzzle Cube Challenge

by APA Sophmore Ireunina Baker 

Puzzle Cube 
Have you ever looked at a product that has been well-designed? Do you find yourself asking questions, such as, "How did the designer think of that idea?" or "What is involved in the creation of that product?"

I got that chance doing a project for my pre-engineering class, Introduction to Engineering Design.  The Project was called, the Puzzle Cube Challenge.  It involved taking a problem from a "customer" and then working through a critical thinking process - the Engineering Design Process - to find a solution. I found that taking an idea and transferring it from a problem, to brainstorming,  to a sketch, to working drawings, to models, and then to a working prototype is exciting and fun!
 

 

APA Student Designs  

A New Product

Business Plan 
While deciding on a manufacturing business idea to complete a culminating product for Ms. McClendon's business class, Marquette Brown thought of her own experiences and ended up coming up with an innovation to a billion dollar baby-product industry. Her experience as a mother gave her the inspiration to create "Snap-On," an eco-friendly pacifier with exchangeable parts. Marquette represented APA in the 9th Annual NFTE Citywide Business Plan Competition, sponsored by NYSE Foundation on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. She presented her business plan to the competition with grace and conviction. We are proud of her accomplishment and we are excited to see what she does next.

APA Students Participate in SkillsUSA State Conference

Skills USA State Conference  
Eight APA students recently participated at the annual SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership Conference and Skills Championships held in Springfield, IL. Senior Torres Hughes finished in second place in the Job Interview competition. Congratulations to all participating students: Le'Nesha Bowles, Denesha Furlow, Torres Hughes, Fashon Johnson, Hywania Orange, Brandi Scott, Erika Scott and Quan Trimble.