News Release

WARSAW — From Oct. 2-5, coinciding with National Manufacturing Week, all eighth-grade students in the Warsaw, Wawasee, Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley school corporations will participate in “DiscoverME,” a career awareness program through OrthoWorx that showcases modern manufacturing across Kosciusko County.

The weeklong program includes daily classroom instruction, school assemblies and a daylong field trip, where students will learn about the manufacturing industry as well as educational pathways available to them.

“There are so many different career options in manufacturing here that do not require a college degree,” said Erin Serafino, OrthoWorx talent director. “We’re excited to show eighth graders the important roles they can fulfill in this community as they begin to think about their career options after high school.”

Manufacturing experiences programs introduce students to local industry, showcasing career opportunities and pathways for eighth-grade students in Kosciusko County and the surrounding area. Manufacturing is a central part of our county’s economic landscape with industries around agribusiness, automotive, boat production, furniture and medical devices — specifically orthopedics. DiscoverME offers a community-responsive curriculum and introduces manufacturing at a time when students begin thinking about high school coursework and their career interests.

Local companies featured as tour stops this year include DePuy Synthes, Instrumental Machine & Development, Medartis, Paragon Medical, Polywood, Precision Medical Technologies and Zimmer Biomet.

“With our students having so many pathways to consider these days,” said Bob Vitoux, OrthoWorx president and chief executive officer, “we see this as a great opportunity to partner with our local orthopedic industry and education partners to deliver this experiential learning program, aligning with our mission to Equip the Next Generation as a part of our Talent Pipeline pillar.”