Local Students Experience Winterim at DISHER

Winterim is a week-long learning experience for Holland Christian High School students. It gives students the opportunity to explore various subjects outside of the traditional curriculum for exposure to new ideas, potential careers, and lifetime skills. One of the options available for juniors and seniors is to spend the week off-campus with real employers for first-hand experiences with possible career pathways. DISHER welcomed three students (David Disher, Abby Koops, and Cameron Snoeyink) with interests in both Engineering Services and Talent Solutions. They spent a full week learning about DISHER’s services, customers, culture, and how we have fun too. Here’s a quick peak at their week.

Monday

The students toured DISHER’s main headquarters in Zeeland. Sarah Watson, an engineering intern, walked them through a SolidWorks training to introduce them to CAD design. During lunch they took the Strengths Finder personality test to identify their top five strengths. The afternoon was spent in the Design Studio with the Discovery team learning about marketing, web design, market research, and brainstorming.

Tuesday

The students began the day with Fred Pettinga, a Business Lead at DISHER, learning about his experiences in engineering and his leadership role at DISHER. Next, the students were trained on the 3D printer and were able to see the design in CAD and then watch it print. The students were able to speak with Brennen Proudfit, one of our current co-ops from Kettering University, about his experience at college and working at DISHER. After lunch there was a training with Kathy Osmun, from our Talent Solutions team, on professionalism and how to interview and build a resume. The day ended with Sam Smith and James Szymanowski, two of our engineers, who trained the students on NX and Catia CAD programs.

Wednesday

The students took a tour of our customer GHSP’s facility in Grand Haven with Aaron Denbow. Shawn O’Farrell provided a lunch and learn on lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. Lynn VanSickle walked the students along with some interns and new employees through a DISHER Whiteboard Wednesday. To complete the day, the students headed off for another customer tour through LG Chem.

Thursday

Students enjoyed a tour of Yanfeng Automotive Interiors Southview campus with Conlin Britton and Dan Cempel. Once the students returned to DISHER, they joined 20 other DISHER employees on a tour of another local business, Eagle Design. The students spent the remainder of the day with Phil Dirske in the shop at DISHER where they were trained on safety guidelines and how to prototype designs. They were able to put their prototyping skills into practice building the designs that came out of their Whiteboard Wednesday the previous day.

Friday

Fridays at DISHER are days where everyone comes back to the office. This made for a fun day for the Winterim students. They were able to speak with Chad Barnes from our Ann Arbor location and Kevin Pinner who is the Business Lead of our Business Solutions services. The students had the chance to meet with the Electronics team and then join the Talent Solutions team meeting for lunch. After lunch, they met with Joe Dyer to learn about becoming a Team Lead. Chuck Beasley spoke to them about his work experiences as well as being a Corporate Owners of DISHER’s First Fruits program. We concluded the Winterim week in true DISHER fashion— with an ice cream party and nerf gun war.

“Being able to spend a whole week at DISHER was a really great experience,” commented Winterim student, David Disher. “I learned way more than I expected to about the company and all the work they do. I was able to talk to many people who love working there and get an idea of what their role was and what their field is like. I enjoyed visiting a few DISHER customers and seeing the kind of work they are involved in. After spending a week with the team at DISHER, I was able to tell that everyone there cares about the mission statement and really takes it to heart.”

Written By: Kimberly Bauer  | Talent Acquisition Coordinator 
Kimberly brings many skills from her years at Bethany Christian Services and Women at Risk International. A Grand Valley State University alumni, Kimberly received her BA in Public and Nonprofit Administration with an Emphasis in Community Health and a Minor in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Kimberly loves kayaking, hiking, camping, traveling, and art— in addition to her husband and golden retriever.