Waters Corporation Manufacturing Trip October 2017

Waters Field Trip
Students who visited Waters Corporation were Ryan Bernard, Patrick Brown, Anthony Deluca, Anthony DeMeo, Drew Ghiorse, Mackenzie Gray, Joseph Hennessy, Chayse Mitchell, Guenevere Payne, James Perrotti, Lindsey Provost, Kaleb Schimmelpenningh, Andrew Squier, Lacie St. Laurent, Sarah Stevens, Andrew Tretheway, and Haleigh Wagner. They were joined by Mrs. GravesonPayne and Ms. Thulin.



On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, seventeen 8th grade students from Douglas Middle School participated in a STEM career exploration program by visiting international advanced manufacturer Waters Corporation in Milford, MA. The program, which coincides with Massachusetts Manufacturing Month, was sponsored by Blackstone Valley Education Foundation (BVEF).

The students attended a welcome session conducted by management that introduced them to the global reach of the company, its products, and its multiple overseas facilities. Employees then conducted tours of the facility, including production areas, research and development, and product inventory. The focus of the tour was to inform students about the multiple STEM career areas in a large global manufacturer. Tours were followed by a panel presentation and discussion relating to how individual workers and managers became involved in their jobs, courses they took in high school, and their continuing education and training beyond high school. Lunch was then provided so that students could informally continue discussions with several of the workers. After the trip, the students who attended shared some of their thoughts.

What was something you learned and/or that surprised you?
-The size of the company
-The number of people working in that location (1,600)
-In 2030 there will be 3.5 million new manufacturing jobs available
-They make machines that identify if the fish in sushi is really what it claims to be
-They morph/fuse different metals into solid pieces
-Waters does a lot for the world (making instruments for chemotherapy, neonatal testing, food and water quality, etc.)

What was the best part of the trip?
-Taking the tour
-Going into the testing labs
-Seeing all the machines and how they function
-Morning snack/Lunch
-Everyone was so nice and made an effort to help teach you about the company

Douglas Middle School is a member of Blackstone Valley Education Foundation. BVEF provides numerous career-oriented on-site learning experiences throughout the academic year that extend classroom learning experiences for students, teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators of member school districts.