CTE Center’s 3M Future Makers Lab opens
(Left to Right) New Ulm High School Alumni John Sondag, Lucas Sondag Bode, Megan Beranek and Zel-Mari Kamm returned to the CTE Center to share their experiences. Photo by Dylan Jackson
LenDale Dunmars (right) interns with Steve Gag (right) at Gag Sheet Metal through the New Ulm High School internship program. Photo by Dylan Jackson
(Right to left) NUHS sophomores Kolton Sizer, Nash Larson and Luis Ruiz are all involved with the CTE program at New Ulm High School. Photo by Dylan Jackson
(Left to Right) New Ulm High School Alumni John Sondag, Lucas Sondag Bode, Megan Beranek and Zel-Mari Kamm returned to the CTE Center to share their experiences. Photo by Dylan Jackson
LenDale Dunmars (right) interns with Steve Gag (right) at Gag Sheet Metal through the New Ulm High School internship program. Photo by Dylan Jackson
(Right to left) NUHS sophomores Kolton Sizer, Nash Larson and Luis Ruiz are all involved with the CTE program at New Ulm High School. Photo by Dylan Jackson
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NEW ULM - New Ulm city officials, NUPS board and faculty, 3M members and Heart of America representatives gathered for the unveiling of the CTE (Career and Technical Education) Center's new 3M Future Makers Lab Friday morning.
New Ulm was the ninth school in the nation selected for the nine week transformation project.
Heart of America, a nonprofit focused on providing learning spaces fit for student development, joined forces with 3M to create a workstation fit for the rapidly changing trades fields.
What was once an old classroom and office space built in the 1980s became a hands-on workspace for the Intro to Trades class.
The room features a large open space, as well as five rooms around the exterior dedicated to specific trades. Many of the rooms feature portable stations that can be wheeled into the open space for easier hands-on access during class.
These five trade stations are Mechatronics and Automation, Skilled Trades Technology, HVAC Systems Technology, Electrical Systems, and Plumbing and Fluid Dynamics.
Recent graduates and current students active in the CTE Center shared their experiences taking CTE classes.
On top of the traditional graduation pathway, New Ulm High School offers a CTE pathway for those interested in going into the trades.
"These are classes where students can answer the age-old question, 'when are we ever going to use this,'" New Ulm High School Principal Mark Bergmann said. "If you ever pay someone to repair a small engine or fix something in your home, you know exactly the value of these skills."
Bergmann said that career and technical education is not exclusive to the CTE Center.
"At the high school it includes family consumer science, business education, agriculture, and culinary arts," Bergmann said.
The event was catered by NUHS's Pastry and Design class.
Intro to Trades was also one of these classes taught at the high school.
Sophomore Nash Larson said that at the high school, the class included lots of video watching.
"Now we'll be able to do more hands-on experience," Larson said.
John Sundag, who graduated through the CTE pathway, said that the new space will give students the opportunity to explore emerging developments in trade fields.
"This has a lot more of the advancement of today's world on the technology side of things," Sundag said. "This is a lot of the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) technology where the world is heading to."
Sundag is currently at Alexandria Technical College for welding but plans to go back to work for Dan's Custom Welding Tables in Gibbon to continue to do things there and learn more.
"Anita Longtin helped tremendously. I wouldn't have the job without her or the CTE Center," Sundag said. ""I think [the CTE pathway is] great. For me it fit what I wanted in life and it was perfect."
Longtin, who is the CTE Center Coordinator helps connect students with relevant community businesses suited for the students' interests.
"These opportunities happen because people care enough to help," Bergmann said. "Our community partners share their time, knowledge, resources and expertise. They welcome students into their workplaces and help students connect what they learned today with what they may do tomorrow.
One of these community partners is Steve Gag of Gag Sheet Metal, who has participated in the internship program.
"The biggest thing is giving kids all the different experiences, not just with us but for all trades," Gag said. "They find out they really like or they're like 'I don't want anything to do with it' so it's great that they get the experience before they go to school for something they don't appreciate."
Senior LenDale Dunmars is currently interning at Gag Sheet Metal. He thinks the new setup will give students more chances to try out different trades and find one that suits them.
"I took an intro to trades and I saw HVAC and it was something I wanted to do when I was older," Dunmars said.
At Gag Sheet Metal, Dunmars gets experience working on HVAC units.
"It's really helping me and it’s something I think I want to do for the rest of my life," Dunmars said. "I want to stay at Gag Sheet Metal for a while and hopefully start my own HVAC business."
Dunmars said that Intro to Business, CTE Center classes and his internship have given him tools needed to eventually reach the goal of creating a business.
Even with the new CTE Center additions, the school is determined to continue bringing more opportunities for students to get a head start in their fields of interest.
"We continue to look ahead," Bergmann said. "We are exploring a medical pathway with the hope of offering CNA and CMA certification courses, creating more opportunities for students interested in health care.