On the last Friday in September, Lumity kicked off another school year of STEM career readiness with a career site visit to a new partner, Liquid Controls. This manufacturing powerhouse in Lake Bluff hosted eight juniors and seniors from Chicago Math & Science Academy in Rogers Park.
The students toured the manufacturing facility and saw every step in the manufacturing process of large volume flow meters that measure the movement and transfer of liquids. This process illustrated the intersections of science, engineering, technology and math that come together to deliver a product to customers that measures large volumes of liquid to the 10,000th decimal place and to understand the how the product must be able to adjust for variances in temperature and other variables.
During the presentations from the leadership at Liquid Controls, as well as the tour of the facility, students learned the importance of technical skills in all the work done at Liquid Controls.
Students were assigned a real-world project in which they experienced the need to address an issue, make adjustments to fit the product and customer need and then deliver the solution on time. This project required the students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills like the employees at Liquid Controls do every day. More than that, students were taught how important listening skills are when dealing with a customer issue. At the conclusion of the project, the students were shown examples of the financial impact on a business as they made improvements to their processes to meet the customer need.
Throughout the employee presentations during the day, every presenter talked about the important role their education has had on what they do today. However, each one emphasized the importance of problem-solving and working well with teams in the jobs that they do today and in every job that they have had since graduating college.