Clinton Middle wins CNS-sponsored Dream It, Do It competition

 

Clinton Middle School won the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce’s first “Dream It. Do It.” competition.

Clinton Middle School partnered with Eagle Bend Manufacturing in the competition. For their effort, the school received four Go Pro cameras, provided by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, through corporate funds. CNS is the managing contractor at the Y‑12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

The awards ceremony was at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus.

The program involved putting eighth-grade students in adult settings, a press release said. Equipped with Go Pro cameras, the students got a firsthand look at a manufacturing world that they might not have considered as a future career. CNS provided the students at Clinton, Lake City, Norris, and Norwood middle schools with the cameras and the mission to capture the diversity of careers and technical innovations in manufacturing by producing a short video.

The four Anderson County middle school teams, working with local businesses, created industrial videos that received more than 12,000 online votes, the press release said.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the results of our pilot program,” said Anderson County Chamber President Rick Meredith.  “Our goal was to get kids excited about manufacturing and expose them to the idea that there are lots of job opportunities and even careers in manufacturing.”

The Chamber, Anderson County Schools, and CNS partnered to bring the program to Anderson County. Area industries quickly lined up to take part.

“For CNS, it’s about the enduring global security mission that dates back to the Manhattan Project,” said Jason Bohne, senior director of communications and public affairs at CNS. “We will continue to need highly skilled workers for our mission. Getting kids at the middle school age to begin thinking about those kinds of careers helps us all in the future.”

Meredith agreed.

“There are many jobs in advanced manufacturing, and the initiative is an effort to acquaint students with these employment options,” Meredith said. “These are exciting jobs, and the kids get a firsthand look to see what actually goes on behind the scenes. We hope it gets them excited about these kinds of careers.”

The Anderson Chamber of Commerce paired Magna/Eagle Bend Manufacturing Inc., AISIN Automotive Casting Tennessee, Eagle Bend Manufacturing Inc., SL America, and Techmer PM with the schools and teachers for this experience.

The videos were available for online voting between April 27 and May 4. More than 12,000 votes were cast, and Clinton Middle school received the majority—6,672 votes.

The student videos may be viewed here:

• Norris Middle School and Techmer PM—https://youtu.be/ZLyW1nIDdxI

• Clinton Middle School and Magna/Eagle Bend Manufacturing—https://youtu.be/3fm8eF7kJZc

• Lake City Middle School and SL America—https://youtu.be/MkeFBeXQszk

• Norwood Middle School and AISIN Automotive Casting—https://youtu.be/KwGThIIuvXQ

For more information about Dream It. Do It., contact Bohne at (865) 241-1400 or jason.bohne@cns.doe.gov.

 

This press release was submitted by Kathryn King of CNS.

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