Engineering, manufacturing program at Dubois school pursuing more corporate connections
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This fall, Jeep Engineering and Manufacturing students at Northeast Dubois Jr/Sr High School are busy dividing their time between getting a high school education and working for a student-run business.
Tina Terwiske, who oversees JEM, said the goal of the program is to prepare students for whatever they want to do after graduation. Potential paths include continuing engineering education in college or entering the manufacturing workforce.
“This is getting them started with a lot of the design stuff. We do different software programs and pretty much have a different software program that runs every different piece of equipment,” she said.
Terwiske said the group is looking for more customers and projects to add to its roster. Current clients include Jasper-based Meyer Distributing and Jasper Engines and Transmissions.
“The return on investment is that there’s branding,” Jason Recker, community outreach and engagement coordinator at Jasper Engines, told Inside INdiana Business. “We’d love for this to lead to one of those students or multiple students coming to work for us. But also we want to help the community, and we want to share our message with kids and pair with this corporation to teach them real-life, applicable things that will help them no matter which path they take.”
“I’ve got one student who went to work this summer for Jasper Engines, and he’s looking at hopefully turning that into full time after a couple of years of schooling,” added Terwiske.
About JEM
Jeep Engineering and Manufacturing, which is named after the school mascot, started several years ago by Audrey Case, a former NE Dubois teacher. Terwiske, a 6th grade math teacher for more than 30 years, took over the program in 2023.
“The initial teacher saw a need that the students could produce some things, turn it into somewhat fundraising, but also teach them responsibilities of quality work and timelines or deadlines that needed to be met, as well as incorporating the computer aided design and the manufacturing pieces,” she said.
The program enables students to make business connections and see how the real world operates, according to Terwiske.
“They run their own email accounts. They run their own websites. They do all the graphics. Interviews or phone calls that come in, I direct those to the kids, just using those phone skills and a lot of those different soft skills,” she said. “It’s just all hands on and preparation for about any situation that could be thrown at them.”
This year, more than a dozen students come to JEM class in small groups throughout the day instead of just the first few periods to work on customer orders.
“It’s beneficial because these lasers that we have don’t just run first period, but they can be running all those periods throughout the day. So all of them come in and work on the projects and get things going and while I’m teaching other classes at the time. So it’s kind of a hectic schedule, but it seems to be working pretty good,” said Terwiske.
As JEM’s production manager during 2023-2024 school year, Brooklyn Kiefer put extra time into the program, spending four periods a day in the class. Earlier this year, the NE Dubois graduate was recognized as a member of Conexus Indiana’s 2024 Rising 30 class.
“She has gone on to Rose-Hulman [Institute of Technology] to study engineering. So hopefully that’s a feather in her cap that she’s going to carry proudly, because that was quite an honor,” Terwiske said.
Working with Meyer Distributing
Meyer Distributing, a wholesale distributor of automotive parts, started working with JEM last year. Natalie Tempel, Meyer Distributing’s vice president of marketing, said students get a professional experience by working with a company that has locations nationwide and in Canada.
“I am always communicating directly with students,” she said. “These are great skills to foster early in kids and teens and skills that they will benefit from in their career paths as they move forward.”
JEM creates the awards that Meyer Distributing hands out to the company’s top vendors at annual outings.
“When we give these awards, we ask JEM to put plaques on them to let the recipients know that they are created by local high school students,” said Tempel.
Through the JEM partnership, Tempel said the company hopes to raise awareness about careers at Meyer Distributing so that the students will keep the business in mind after high school or college. There’s also potential for more projects.
“There could always be programs that come in the future or even potentially tenure type awards as well. So if we were to reach out for any type of award that we need to issue internally or externally, JEM would be someone we would reach out to in order to partner with it to create something,” Tempel said.
Partnering with Jasper Engines
Jasper Engines and Transmissions, a remanufacturer of powertrain products, has also been in business with JEM since 2023. Recker said the company had previously partnered with Perry Central Community Schools in Leopold and was looking for a similar experience.
“We have been trying to get involved in local schools from the standpoint of not only going to talk to students about our opportunities, but just guidance overall. When [NE Dubois] got the JEM class going, it was a no brainer. We liked the curriculum, liked the direction they’re going. And quite honestly, we saw openings for them to produce things for us,” he said.
JEM does 3D printing for Jasper Engines, specifically tool holders for Jasper Production Systems, a company subdivision. Recker said the business is also researching other potential work for the students.
“They have a plasma cutter, and we’ve looked at, ‘Can they help us fabricate some parts, or can they make some other things?’” he said. “3D printing was a great place to start, but we’re open to exploring what else can be done in the future.”
Recker said even if JEM students don’t end up working for Jasper Engines, the company would like to help them find a career path somewhere in southwest Indiana.
“There’s a lot of manufacturing opportunity around here. So if we can educate them and prepare them for whatever track they’re taking after school, then that’s what we want to do,” he said.
Branching out
Terwiske said the JEM concept has expanded into other fields of interest at NE Dubois, including a culinary branch, a spirit store and woodworking services.
“We’re trying to do more of a Jeep Enterprises concept,” she said. “Some of the kids who may have been in JEM have taken that wood shop route, so they are looking to possibly make picnic tables and some of those larger projects that will sell.”
JEM is also working on a new project with Wabash Valley, an egg products company based in Dubois, and would like to make more corporate connections.
“This year, we’d like to incorporate a little more creativity and things like that rather than just meeting deadlines. Looking to find some new products and things like that is our primary focus right now,” Terwiske said.
Businesses interested in partnering with JEM can email JEM@nedubois.k12.in.us and take a look at the group’s work on the program’s website and Facebook page.
“The difference from what we did in August [2023] to what we could do in May and June [2024] was pretty significant. Now with kids throughout the day, JEM can really happen more than 45 minutes a day like it was running last [school] year. We have three or four hours a day to run those lasers. So we are able to pick up more projects,” said Terwiske.