Twenty-five students who enrolled in Dutchess BOCES’ Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program are getting a head start on what they will dive into in the fall as part of the two-week P-Tech Summer Bridge Program. Students are spending the first week building Lego robots and controlling them with computers.
P-TECH allows students entering high school to earn their diploma and an applied associate degree in electrical technology in just four years upon successful completion of the program. P-TECH is housed in Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls. Students earn most of their high school credits during their freshman and sophomore years. In their junior and senior years, they complete college courses at Dutchess Community College’s (DCC) Fishkill Center of Excellence for Industry and Innovation.
“Then you’ll have the opportunity to continue and get a bachelor degree in electrical technology or another degree or to become an electrical technician,” DCC Electrical Engineering Technology Program Chair Daniel Barbuto said. “I have a long list of employers that are looking to hire.”
Students will visit the East Fishkill site of Onsemi, a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the end of this week. Barbuto noted that technicians in cleanroom suits work with their hands on complicated and expensive equipment that they must prevent from breaking down, otherwise the company loses money.
“If you’re a technician, you’re working on these machines to keep them running so they don’t break down and the company keeps making money,” Barbuto explained. “Take care of them so they don’t break.”
Before building the Lego robots, Barbuto and Educational Resources professional development specialist Patricia Rizzo engaged the students in an icebreaker game to see what they have in common.
Freshman David King, from Poughkeepsie, wanted to join P-TECH because he always had an interest in mechanics, thanks to his grandfather who works at Onsemi. He hopes to do it as a career.
“He was the one who really got me into this when I was younger,” King said of his grandfather. “It was my passion when I was younger and it still is.”
Norah Greer, a soon to be freshman from Hyde Park, is interested in doing electrical work, so P-TECH was perfect for her. She looks forward to visiting companies and taking college courses that will give her experience she can use to find a technology-related job.
“I’m definitely excited for the field trips,” Greer said. “I’m just excited to be here.”
Once the student teams complete their Lego robots, they will compete against each other to put their creations to the test. During week two, students will work on various skills and activities with instructional staff and a student from DCC’s electrical engineering program and then visit the college’s Mechatronics Lab in Fishkill.
