The Seventh Annual Presidential Awards Ceremony recognized 20 students in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology program at Naugatuck Valley Community College on Friday. Hosted at NVCC’s Technology Hall on the Waterbury campus and sponsored by the Smaller Manufacturers Association of Connecticut (SMA), the event is an annual tradition that celebrates excellence. The top ten students in the manufacturing program, based on GPA, are selected for additional free educational training in the field of Additive Manufacturing and Solid Works and 3-D printing. This mini one-week class is a highly-sought award. In addition, all students who have a B or better average are awarded an OSHA 10 safety training certification. According to NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D., the awards program was started seven years ago as an incentive for AMTC Students to perform well in their studies by providing additional training at no-cost. All classes are held at the College. President De Filippis and faculty and staff from the College along with industry partners and representatives from Thomaston Savings Bank were present to commemorate the achievement.
Stephen Lewis, President and CEO of Thomaston Savings Bank and colleague Kimberly Lebron, a Senior Vice President and Chief Loan Officer, presented a scholarship to one of the program’s top-performing students. The bank has historically worked with many local manufacturers whom they saw struggling to find skilled help. As a result they have allocated funds to help build a pipeline of skilled workers by offering a scholarship in manufacturing.
“Thomaston Savings Bank is a proud supporter of small business manufacturers in our community. We are very pleased to award the $2,500 Manufacturing Education Scholarship to Melissa Day, a very deserving and hardworking NVCC student,” said Lewis.
“I'm so honored to be the recipient of this year's $2,500 Thomaston Savings Bank scholarship. I've been going to NVCC for a few years. I went part-time and got my Associate's Degree in General Studies but I still didn't find anything that I really loved to do. After the first month of the Advanced Manufacturing program I knew that I wanted to do it for a career. I would go home every night so excited to tell my
13- year-old son what I did that day. I plan on using the scholarship to finish the next semester of the program and pay off the loan that I had to take out to pay for the first semester. I can’t wait to get my first paycheck from a manufacturing job and go open my own Thomaston Bank savings account,” said Day.
Students who receive certificates in Advanced Manufacturing Machine Technology are qualified to work in machine technology and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) manufacturing environments. The certificate provides desired work skills by combining hands-on instruction, interactive lab experiences, theory, and possible on-site manufacturing internships. “It is vital that we create the skilled work force needed to meet the manufacturing needs of companies such as Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky Aircraft, and the hundreds of smaller manufacturing companies over the next 5-10 years. We take this as our mission and believe we are well positioned to educate, train, and then provide the skilled workers to meet the growing demand. NVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology program stands committed to keeping manufacturing alive and well here in Connecticut for years to come,” said Joseph DeFeo, Director of NVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center.
NVCC has approximately 250 industry partners that support the program including Pratt & Whitney, Electric Boat, Praxair Corp, Branson, Kimberly-Clark, Memry Corp, EDAC Technologies, Stanley Engineering, and Medtronic Medical Corp. The program has a 100% job placement rate. The certificate curriculum is available at: nv.edu/amtc. Manufacturers or potential students interested in the program can contact Deirdre D’Amore at 203-575-8014 or DDAmore@nv.edu to learn more about NVCC’s manufacturing program in Waterbury.