Students look at a model skeleton at DiscoverME 2024. Photos provided by OrthoWorx.

News Release

WARSAW — Last week, nearly 1,000 eighth-grade students across Kosciusko County engaged with education and career opportunities within advanced manufacturing through OrthoWorx’s DiscoverME — Manufacturing Experiences — program.

DiscoverME offers community — and industry — responsive curriculum and introduces manufacturing at a pivotal time when students begin thinking about high school coursework and their career interests. Students experienced an assembly at Warsaw High School’s TRAC where they engaged with hands-on learning stations and then headed out and toured at one of the manufacturing facilities in our community.

“We truly enjoy hosting the DiscoverME tours at Precision Medical. Watching our team engage with the students highlights the importance of these events,” says Paige Troyer, Human Resources, Precision Medical Technologies, “These young students represent the future of our industry, and it’s exciting to see their curiosity and enthusiasm for orthopedics, even at the 8th-grade level.”

Middle school students from Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, Wawasee, and Whitko gained exposure to many different careers available within manufacturing and learned about the educational pathways to get there. The field trip industry locations during this year’s program included Johnson and Johnson MedTech, Instrumental Machine and Development, Medartis, Paragon Medical, POLYWOOD, Precision Medical Technologies and Zimmer Biomet.

“Sometimes we don’t see opportunities close to home, so DiscoverME plays a key role in helping young people visualize how they can connect their skills and interests to our vibrant manufacturing industry in Kosciusko County,” say Allyn Decker, VP of Operations and Engagement at OrthoWorx. “High-tech, well-paying careers can be started right after high school with the proper training and development and we’re excited to help students start those career pathways now.”

In addition to the DiscoverME program, OrthoWorx will be releasing three virtual reality experiences in partnership with iXplore and industry partners. The three programs are CNC Machining, Polishing, and Entrepreneurship and all 8th graders in the county will get to experience the programs in January and February 2025.

Students watch a demonstration at DiscoverME 2024.