One goal that almost every high school student has in common is figuring out what they want to do in life. Eagle Path Manufacturing has helped students decide what career they may want to go into, experience what the real world feels like, and have fun doing so. 

Making a high school class fun offers its challenges, but Jacob Johnson has no problem with this task. Mr. Johnson had spent many previous years developing Eagle Path Manufacturing so it was something the students would enjoy. He stated, “We have been working on developing a culture in our middle school and high school industrial tech classes that would make Eagle Path Manufacturing successful.” To keep the class interesting and fun he has his students building items such as custom cups, firepits, coasters, and multiple other items that can be found in the Eagle Path Manufacturing Catalog.

Eagle Path Manufacturing is a business that is almost completely run by students. As the class developed this year these students got an idea of what the real world may look like for them. For Hunter Walklin and Allison Letcher the business side of Eagle Manufacturing helped them develop an inside look of how a business is run. On a different end of the business was Connor Redman, who was in the construction section of the class. He said he never knew how hard it would be to keep in contact with everyone to make sure they have the right materials. 

A lot goes into setting up a business and the teams within Eagle Manufacturing, Jennifer Squires is one of the people that make this class possible. As counselor at the MSHS, Mrs. Squires helps students figure out what classes they want to take and helps them create a pathway for what they may want to major in. As for Eagle Manufacturing, Mrs. Squires helps Mr. Johnson create teams for each semester. Mrs. Squires receives a list from Mr. Johnson each semester of what teams he wants and how many kids for each team. For example he wanted two business team members, three paint team members, a CNC wood router team leader, and one CNC wood router team member. They were even trying to create a computer programming team this year. Mrs. Squires chooses kids based on their interests and what career they may want to pursue.

Allison Letcher was asked if she was going into business, she exclaimed “no! Taking Eagle Manufacturing helped me realize that I actually don’t want to go into business.” Allison decided that instead of business she wants to go to college for psychology. As for Hunter Walklin he told me he will be attending St. John's University for numerical computation or computer science, and might end up in business at some point. Connor Redman is going to enroll in the construction management program when he attends Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls. 

Manufacturing isn’t just about the building, it is about all of the teams working together to create the best product they can. Eagle Path Manufacturing is a business that does all of that. Through an interesting and often fun approach, Mr. Johnson is helping the students in the class gain real world experience while providing experiences to make those lifetime decisions a bit less stressful. James Dyson is a British inventor, industrial designer, landowner and entrepreneur who founded Dyson Ltd. James Dyson stated, “manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.”