MCC celebrates Manufacturing Month with hands-on experiences
Savannah Behrends
Copywriter and features editor | October 23, 2025
Hundreds of high school students visited the Metropolitan Community College Center for Advanced Manufacturing on the South Omaha Campus to celebrate Manufacturing Month in October. Manufacturing is projected to grow 5.47% by 2030, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor.
“I like to say manufacturing is a bit of a choose your own adventure,” said Hannah Bolte, director of marketing and communications for Metropolitan Community College industry partner Lozier. “Manufacturing can mean a lot of things. It can mean making salad dressing, shelving or surgical robots, but it can also mean managing logistics and engineering.”
Manufacturing Career Exploration Day
Kicking off Manufacturing Month was the Manufacturing Career Exploration Day on Friday, Oct. 3. More than 90 students participated in hands-on activities, ranging from welding to robotics.
Students rotated through nine stations led by MCC instructors in areas such as welding, robotics, precision machining, power and process manufacturing, mechanical drafting and design, and electromechanical maintenance. They also met with nine industry partners and toured Phillips Manufacturing nearby the South Omaha Campus.
Manufacturing Meet and Greet
Outreach continued Wednesday, Oct. 15 with the Manufacturing Meet and Greet. Hosted in the evening, the event was designed to give potential students an opportunity to tour the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, learn about the six programs offered in manufacturing and connect with area employers.
“Classroom to career connections is a focal point for our college and hosting meet and greets achieves that goal,” said Career Experiences Coordinator Tyler Cannon. “Employers sign up year over year because they understand the value MCC brings to their industry and community.”
Twenty industry partners met with 75 potential students and community members at the fall meet and greet.
Women in Manufacturing Lunch and Learn
Rounding out Manufacturing Month was the Women in Manufacturing Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, Oct. 22. This was the third year that MCC partnered with the local Women in Manufacturing chapter to host a panel of six inspiring women, followed by a hands-on activity.
More than 40 high school students heard from panelists Lanee Connell and Laura Koory, both of whom are MCC alums who now work for Valmont; Jackie Carrol, Karina Lockman and Stephanie LaFarr of Conductix-Wampfler; Elisa Hutchison of Lozier; and Derrion Severson of Pacific Engineering.
Connell, who recently graduated from MCC, told attendees that in high school she wasn’t a “good student.”
“I couldn’t sit still, I didn’t do my homework and I was really stubborn,” she said. “Then I took a welding class and I realized I was good at it. I decided to go to MCC and got a two-year scholarship. Now I’m working at Valmont.”
While Connell is just beginning her career, several other panelists talked about their varied journeys. Both LaFarr and Lockman started at Conductix-Wampfler as temp-to-hires more than a decade ago with no experience in the industry.
Today LaFarr is the global product manager and Lockman is the company’s first female engineer and market development manager.
“I never thought about manufacturing as a career, I just needed a job at the time,” Lockman said. “Now I work in intralogistics and entertainment with companies like Universal Studios or Disney and that’s the coolest part — being able to say I had a part in that.”
After the industry discussion, students got a hands-on look at how magnets are made. Lozier’s Bolte said she hopes these events help inspire the next generation to pursue a career in manufacturing.
“You might not know what you want to do coming out of high school, but if you get in there and learn, doors will open for you,” she said. “You can reinvent yourself over and over again in this industry — and you can do it at the same company if you chose to.”
Visit mccneb.edu/SkilledTrades to learn about the six manufacturing programs offered at MCC.