NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) – Twenty-four local teachers are spending part of their summer discovering what it means to be a highly skilled craftsman at Newport News Shipbuilding.
The company’s Career Pathways program is a two-week paid internship for teachers in Hampton Roads. They’re trained just like any other employee—getting hands-on experience in eight different trades, including welding, ship-fitting and rigging.
Christie Alvey is a special education teacher at York River Academy in York County. She's ecstatic to see what’s taught in the classroom is actually being applied out in the real world.
“This place runs like a well oil machine --like nothing happens without everything else in place. When the kids ask, ‘How will I ever use this again? When am I ever going to use this again? Why do I need to know this?” Well, this is why,” she said.
Brian Meechan who teaches at Green Run in Virginia Beach can't wait to put his students to work.
“I've written some lesson plans for myself to carry me through most of the school year, at least in my design tech class, as well as my physics class--so the kids are going to be seeing this,” he said.
The goal is to show students that working at a shipyard is so much more than just building ships.
It requires teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and a whole lot of brainpower.
“We want the image of Newport News Shipbuilding to be not your last resort for employment but your premier option for employment,” Career Pathways Manager Jeffrica Key said.