HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Wallace State students enrolled in the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (F.A.M.E.) program pledged their personal safety commitments on Monday at a special banner signing at the Advanced Visualization Center.
“This is important because we are trying improve ourselves in the workplace and stay safer. If we pledge safety commitments, it makes everyone else around us safer as well,” said student Francisco Tomas, who is sponsored by Louisiana Pacific – LP Products in Hanceville.
The F.A.M.E. program at Wallace State had 16 AMTs (Advanced Manufacturing Technician) pledge safety commitments, identifying their goal in front of sponsoring employers, Wallace State administration and employees, and Zach Lee from the Alabama Community College System. After announcing their commitments, each AMT wrote and signed the pledge onto a F.A.M.E. banner, featuring all sponsoring employers.
Examples of the safety pledges announced were:
- “I will never sacrifice safety to get a job done quicker or easier.”
- “I will always wear the appropriate eye wear.”
- “I will prevent any potential hazards at work or in the lab.”
- “I will always stay inside cross walks at work and during tours.”
Safety is a key component in the F.A.M.E. classroom curriculum and a strict focus for Wallace State’s cohorts this semester.
“The F.A.M.E. model is a scale that should be adopted in all career models, and safety commitment and awareness component is incredible. These men and women have thought about and practiced these pledges enough that it’s not only a workplace commitment, it’s a goal in their daily lives. It makes them a safer and more productive person because they want to do things right,” said Jimmy Hodges, Wallace State’s dean of Applied Technologies.
Added Christina Holmes, Wallace State’s Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning coordinator: “This safety pledge sets the tone for the rest of this program. For the next five semesters, safety is embedded in everything they’re learning and also part of their daily lives. It’s setting the expectation that takes place in the workplace and classroom.”
The F.A.M.E. program is a five-semester program, allowing students the opportunity to earn wages while completing an associate’s degree in Industrial Maintenance. Over a two-year span, students can earn as much as $33,500, spending two days per week in the classroom and three days per week in the industry.
Wallace State’s 2019 F.A.M.E. AMT cohort includes:
Zachary Gregg – ZeroRPM (Cullman)
Nathan McKee – Alabama Cullman Yutaka Technologies, Inc.
Francisco Tomas – Louisiana Pacific – LP Products (Hanceville)
Jamie Marsh and Reece Bolzle – Sonoco Reels and Plugs (Hartselle)
Ryland Kirk – Remington (Huntsville)
Caleb Matzer and Stephanie Lara-Herrera – C&A Automation (Huntsville)
Hunter Byrams and Alan Castro – Reliance Worldwide Corporation (Cullman)
Matthew Glover, Adrian White, Zachary Taylor and Ethan Hallmark – Kamtek (Birmingham)
Tyler Neal – Cerrowire (Hartselle)
Joshua Haney – Pending Sponsorship
For more information about F.A.M.E., visit its website at https://wsfame.com
Interested students can also contact Holmes at 256-352-8120 or Christina.holmes@wallacestate.edu or Tom Howell at 256-352-8150 or tom.howell@wallacestate.edu
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.
View event pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallacestate/albums/72157711137666748
