Angola business welcomes P-TECH students
Chace Fisher of Silver Creek spent his senior year at WNY P-TECH interning with Flexovit in Angola. Submitted photos
David Kozlowski is pictured working for Flexovit in Angola. Kozlowski earned his associate degree from Jamestown Community College through the WNY P-TECH program in Dunkirk.
Chace Fisher of Silver Creek spent his senior year at WNY P-TECH interning with Flexovit in Angola. Submitted photos
David Kozlowski is pictured working for Flexovit in Angola. Kozlowski earned his associate degree from Jamestown Community College through the WNY P-TECH program in Dunkirk.
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P-TECH alums who have found stability at Flexovit recently reflected on their time in the program and how it prepared them for their current positions.
Chace Fisher, from Silver Creek, and David Kozlowski, from Forestville, join some of the many P-TECH students who have found themselves working in the industry.
After attending P-TECH for four years, Fisher obtained an internship during his senior year at Flexovit, which became a full-time maintenance position with the company. Fisher recommends P-TECH for students who want a different experience that prepares students for life in the workforce.
"(P-TECH) was a fresh start. It was a chance to get something new, the free college, and to be able to work my way up and get out there," Fisher said. "The internship and P-TECH itself was a new opportunity, and it's worked out."
Fisher was initially following the Machine Tool pathway but realized during his internship he had a passion for the maintenance aspect and was able to pivot to the Mechatronics pathway.
"Instead of being the operator, I'm now the person who is fixing the machine for the operator," he said. "Having the chance to be in a paid internship is never anything I expected to be able to do while I was in high school."
Kozlowski earned his associate degree from Jamestown Community College through the P-TECH program in 2022 and has since found job stability at Flexovit as a machinist.
"After high school, I really don't know what I would have done," Kozlowski said. "So I just would've been lost as far as what to do career-wise without the P-TECH program."
His main task at Flexovit is to rework the hardware in the shop for the operators.
"Hardware will run out on the presses, so we'll give them fresh parts and reface the worn parts," he said. "It's steady work, and I like it. I have an actual career going, and I'm in the profession I want."
WNY P-TECH is an all-day program housed in a state-of-the-art facility located at 55 East Benton St., Dunkirk. Students enroll in P-TECH as ninth graders and follow one of four fields of study in Welding, Mechanical Technology with specializations in CADD or Machine Tool, or Mechatronics. Upon completing the program, students earn an associate degree through Jamestown Community College with no out-of-pocket expense. Scholar athletes can participate in after-school clubs and sports for their home district, and they can join the P-TECH National Honor Society, Student Council, or Dream It Do It Club. Participating school districts provide transportation to the program daily.
WNY P-TECH is currently accepting incoming 9th-grade students for the 2023-24 school year. To learn more and see if it's the right opportunity, eighth-grade students or their parents should contact William Smock, WNY P-TECH principal, at 672-3144 or email wsmock@e2ccb.org.