{"id":131823,"date":"2023-08-31T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=131823"},"modified":"2023-08-30T18:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T23:27:19","slug":"university-of-mississippis-haley-barbour-center-for-manufacturing-excellence-internships-help-beat-brain-drain-in-mississippi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/university-of-mississippis-haley-barbour-center-for-manufacturing-excellence-internships-help-beat-brain-drain-in-mississippi\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Mississippi’s\u00a0Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence Internships Help Beat ‘Brain Drain’ in Mississippi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Students improve production, negotiate deals and land jobs<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eighteen students in the University of Mississippi<\/strong>‘s\u00a0Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0spent their summers solving real-world problems for Mississippi <\/strong>manufacturing companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsored by a $200,000 Robert M. Hearin Foundation<\/strong> grant, the students interned at small-to-medium facilities with limited funding for summer internships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The support of the Hearin Foundation has provided an outlet to expose our students to the wealth of career options here in Mississippi while highlighting our smaller manufacturing firms which are so crucial to the economic health of our region,” said Scott Kilpatrick<\/strong>, CME executive director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downing Koestler<\/strong>, a junior mechanical engineering major from Oxford<\/strong>, worked at\u00a0CITE Armored<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Holly Springs. The company is a leading armored vehicle manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They asked me to take my knowledge and try to improve production and quality \u2013 basically give them my two cents,” Koestler said. “I was looking for areas where value\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0being added to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Like, if there was a truck sitting there not being worked on at all;\u00a0that’s\u00a0not good. Or if people\u00a0have to\u00a0walk across the facility to do something and then walk back \u2013 that takes five minutes. So that’s 10 minutes lost that\u00a0you’re\u00a0not doing any work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koestler said that CME courses helped him “have an eye for that sort of thing.” He provided his recommendations to the company for their consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Armored vehicles are very large, so it took time to capture everything that was happening at one time,” he said. “There were a lot of moving parts and different problems to solve every day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After finishing his\u00a0freshman\u00a0year, Griffin Hollander never expected to land an internship at CITE Armored. But then he found himself leading their negotiations on a potential deal with a Fortune 500 company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m really proud because I feel like not a lot of freshmen get this opportunity,” said Hollander, an accounting major from Oxford. “I was able to help facilitate a deal that would be a really big change for the company \u2013 and what I think is a step in the right direction.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollander also conducted an inventory study to assess the accuracy of the firm’s inventory management system, among other tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The actual purchasing of products really stuck out to me, and the acquisition of vendors and suppliers and things of that nature is really, for lack of a better word, fun,” he said.\u00a0“It’s\u00a0exciting to go in and negotiate with steel suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Also, experiencing the accounting that I signed up for in my major has been a great opportunity for me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koestler and Hollander helped the company accomplish specific goals, said Jason Reel<\/strong>, general manager of CITE Armored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Downing has helped me with several different time studies, creating work instructions and helping create quality documents,” Reel said. “Griffin has helped\u00a0mainly with\u00a0getting our inventory manageable. We have a\u00a0fairly new\u00a0system called Fishbowl. Griffin has been\u00a0a big help\u00a0finding ways to use the system more efficiently.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karson Wardell<\/strong>, a senior mechanical engineering major from Laurel<\/strong>, worked in Clinton <\/strong>at\u00a0Taylor Power Systems Inc.<\/a>, an industrial generator manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They make anything from small residential generators to generators they use in oil fields,” Wardell said. “Each generator is custom, where the client has a plethora of options for how each unit is manufactured. A unit may never be made again, so\u00a0it’s\u00a0a complete learning curve each time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wardell conducted\u00a0several time\u00a0studies, wrote work instructions for new assembly operations, worked to improve production\u00a0flow\u00a0and implemented quality checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This internship gave me a rare opportunity to go into a company with the freedom to voice my ideas,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Duke<\/strong>, director of Taylor Power<\/strong>, praised Wardell’s manufacturing knowledge and ability to acclimate to any assignment he was given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Karson was invited to some of our weekly production team meetings and was fully prepared with reporting on his work and on his findings,” Duke said. “Karson showed up to work daily ready to go, had a positive attitude and dressed in a manner that portrays him as a leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The best compliment was his supervisor telling me that Karson is the type of project leader and worker that we need on the Taylor Power team.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the internships ended Aug. 11, many students will have to access to more opportunities at their companies. Taylor Power has offered Wardell a job following graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As many organizations around the state are working to slow down the trend of ‘brain drain’ here in Mississippi, we are seeing the CME students that take part in this program not only gain applicable job experience through these internships, but many of the host industries are extending additional opportunities for extended co-op experiences or even full-time employment offers upon graduation,” Kilpatrick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Erin Garrett<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Griffin Hollander, a sophomore accounting major at the University of Mississippi, was given the opportunity to lead negotiations on a potential deal between a Fortune 500 company and CITE Armored as part of his summer internship. Photo by Thomas Graning\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Junior Ole Miss mechanical engineering major Downing Koestler worked to improve production and quality during a summer internship at CITE Armored in Holly Springs. The internship was sponsored by the Robert M. Hearin Foundation to provide opportunities for students and smaller manufacturers in the state. Photo by Thomas Graning\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Karson Wardell, a senior mechanical engineering major at the University of Mississippi, completed a summer internship sponsored by a Robert M. Hearin Foundation grant at industrial generator manufacturer Taylor Power. Wardell was so successful in his internship that the company has offered him a job after graduation. Submitted photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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