Taking Cook to the kids

On September 20-21, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Human Resources employees from Cook Inc.-Spencer and Park 48 participated in a manufacturing day held at Major Tool and Machine Company in Indianapolis. The event was organized by the Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

This event was a chance to speak to high school students from all over the state about manufacturing at Cook. Representatives were able to explain the opportunities within their fields at our company.

The students were shown various products from the Baskets department as well as AAA products. The students especially enjoyed the hands-on model where they were able to remove kidney stones using an NCircle tipless stone extractor.

Below the photo gallery, some of the Cook participants at the event talk about the experience.

Sierra Megel is a Human Resources generalist at Cook Inc.-Spencer.

“We set up the kidney stone removal demonstration at our table. We had one student who spent about 20-25 minutes removing kidney stones. He was so determined to remove all of them, and he challenged others around him to try it too. He did it in great time and was so proud afterwards. The students really enjoyed the hands-on models. They were all really surprised to learn that we handcrafted so many devices.

“I hope the students got all the information so they will look into Cook when it comes time to get out into the workforce. A lot of students were interested in the tuition assistance, so I hope they can work with us and take advantage of that great benefit.”

Mark Lamb is a production manager for Balloons, Catheters, Critical Care, DME, Malecots, Plastics, Roomstock, Stents/Universa, and TFE/Dilators at Cook Inc.-Spencer.

“I’ve attended job fairs before: however, they were nothing like this. I worked on the product line when I started at Cook, so I felt I could help students understand how intricate the manufacturing process is. It was interesting to me to observe Jimmie Merk, our Engineering manager, passionately discussing the different avenues Engineering offers with a student who wanted to attend Ohio State. I enjoyed discussing the different careers Cook has to offer. This is something that is very beneficial to the growth of students. I’m very fortunate to work for a company that cares and takes time to educate our future generation.

“There were times that students were lined up to try and capture a kidney stone. There were a lot of smiles. It was something I think all of the students will remember about Cook. It took me 10 minutes to retrieve a stone but a couple of students did it under 30 seconds. So there were definitely much better ‘doctors’ there than me.”

“I hope the students came away with an understanding of all of the things that Cook, and a career in manufacturing, has to offer. The culmination of all of these different manufacturing companies from around Indiana coming together really put into perspective how important these types of businesses are to Indiana’s economy.”

Kevin Briles is a Supply Chain Sourcing specialist based at Park 48.

“It was fun to watch a group of kids show up and maybe only one wanted to see how to retrieve a kidney stone. But once one of them did it, then they would all want to give it a try. I worked with Mark Lamb and Jimmie Merk; they both did a great job educating and informing the kids about our products.

“I think the students were shocked to see how many opportunities there are at Cook for them. They were told about all of the different kinds of engineers we have, marketing jobs, technicians—the list just goes on and on.”

“One girl asked if there were jobs for people who didn’t want to go to college. I told her college isn’t always for everyone and that we have jobs for her too.  I told her the bonus is after she gets here, if she changes her mind, Cook will work with you to continue her education. I enjoyed the interaction with the kids. They were from all over the state, all with different ideas about their future—some were still trying to figure out their future. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development was so thrilled that Cook had a booth. I thought, if nothing else, this was a great event for Cook within the state of Indiana. I hope the kids saw that, no matter what their future plans are, there is a place for them at Cook. There was a wide variety of employers exhibiting, so the students got a good idea of all the kids of opportunities there are for them in Indiana.”