Source: United States Navy
Five educators from local schools participated in the externship program that took place at FRCE with two sessions held in late June. The sessions each lasted four days and introduced teachers to FRCE’s workforce and operations
Michelle Smith, who coordinates kindergarten through 12th grade educational outreach for the Fleet Support Team’s Advanced Technology and Innovation (ATI) Team at FRCE, said the externship is aimed at showcasing career opportunities to area students.
“We are the largest aeronautical services, logistics and engineering services provider in North Carolina,” said Smith. “It’s important for us to be involved and provide opportunities for interactions like these. We want to cultivate our future workforce and we want to ensure that area students know about the career opportunities we offer.”
Smith said FRCE became involved in the program in 2015 after being asked to participate by Craven County Schools. She said the four-day externship sessions focus on connecting local teachers with FRCE’s workforce.
To do this, the educators donned personal protective equipment and entered the depot’s production lines, engineering shops, and offices to get a firsthand look at the FRCE’s military aircraft maintenance operations which encompass a wide variety of trades.
“FRCE is an organization with more than 4,000 employees providing labor, logistics support and engineering services at five detachments as well as forward-deployed units throughout the world,” said ATI Team’s Innovation Lead Engineer Randall Lewis. “We have a huge variety of jobs here. It is a lot to digest in four days but they leave with all this knowledge to take back to the classroom and share with their students.”
For many of the educators, the introduction to the variety of specialties found at FRCE was eye opening.
“I am not from here, so I didn’t really even know what FRC East did,” said Catherine Poteet, a teacher at Havelock Middle School. “I didn’t know it was so big and I didn’t realize there were so many different moving parts involved. I think this offers great insight into what careers are possible right here in the area.”
During the externship, teachers met with a wide range of personnel working throughout the depot and observed the types of jobs they perform. Ample time was provided for questions and discussion.
Kayla Anderson, a math teacher at New Bern High School, said the up close and personal look at the depot’s operations highlighted the skill sets needed in an industry workplace.
“One thing I found really interesting was ways that I can incorporate parts of certain jobs I saw or practical applications into my math curriculum,” said Kayla Anderson. “That’s something I plan to take back with me.”
Shana Deans, a STEM teacher at H.J. MacDonald Middle School, said the externship allowed educators to get an inside look at an industry that most are not familiar with.
“Our goal is to prepare these children for their future,” said Deans. “So we all should understand what the different opportunities are outside of our world of math or English or whatever we teach.”
Dean said seeing FRCE’s highly skilled artisan workforce dispelled the notion many people have that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers are solely the domain of engineers, chemists and others possessing advanced degrees.
“STEM careers can include someone who is a radiologist as well as someone who services the radiology machines,” said Deans. “Everyone thinks of the mathematician, the physicist, or the astronaut. There are also a lot of people working in STEM who make it possible for that astronaut to perform their job.”
During their time at FRCE, the educators also learned about the financial impact FRCE has on the local area. The depot has a payroll of about $330 million. The average salary at FRCE is $72,000 a year, nearly 28% more than the median household income in Craven County.
Rita Brown, the Exceptional Children’s Transition Coordinator for Craven County Schools, said the externship illustrated that students can find lucrative jobs at the depot, whether they choose to attend college or not.
“Not everyone goes to college,” said Rita Brown, the Exceptional Children’s Transition Coordinator for Craven County Schools. “We leave here knowing that we can tell our students, there are jobs out there for them even if they decide not to go to college – good paying jobs right here in the area.”
Misty Guthrie, a STEM teacher at Tucker Creek Middle School, agreed.
“I think that there are very valuable jobs in the STEM fields that don’t necessarily require the level of academic attainment that we typically envision,” said Guthrie. “I think it is especially important that students understand all the options that are out there.
“We have students who can do so many things with their hands and they’re great critical thinkers,” continued Guthrie. “This has been really eye opening because there are a lot of positions at FRC East for these students.”
FRCE’s participation in the externship program is one just facet of an intensive education and outreach effort at FRCE. These efforts run the gamut from the deployment of STEM carts at area elementary schools to senior capstone design projects with students at area universities.
“Our mission at FRC East is important and our people are crucial to meeting that mission,” said Lewis. “We can’t serve the warfighter unless we have a quality workforce. Our goal is to reach out to students that are interested in living and working in eastern North Carolina. We want them to know there is a potential career for them right here at FRC East.”
Outreach efforts all focus on engaging, inspiring, and educating students from eastern North Carolina while highlighting the wide range of career opportunities available at FRCE.
“I think this is especially helpful for the local kids who plan to stay here,” said Anderson. “Having all of these programs and opportunities available at FRC East is really amazing.”
For one educator, the externship program highlighted the success of FRCE’s outreach efforts.
“There was a young man that I worked with when he was little,” said Brown. “I didn’t know what direction he was going to take in his future work. While we were here, he saw us walking through and stopped to speak with us. He’s now working here at FRC East. He did an internship a while back and was hired on. I’m so very proud of him. To me, it’s a very successful story.”
Kayla Anderson, a math teacher at New Bern High School; Catherine Poteet, a teacher at Havelock Middle School; Rita Brown, the Exceptional Children’s Transition Coordinator for Craven County Schools; Misty Guthrie, a STEM teacher at Tucker Creek Middle School; and Shana Deans, a STEM teacher at H.J. MacDonald Middle School, participated in the externship program at FRCE.
FRCE is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.
Learn more at www.navair.navy.mil/frce or https://www.facebook.com/FleetReadinessCenterEast.