Students in one local high school’s technology program are gaining valuable experience working in real world situations.

The New Tech program within Pinckney Community Schools is open to students entering their sophomore year who want to learn more about technologies that are shaping the future. New Tech Director Julia McBride said the idea is to make learning relevant so that at any point a New Tech student should be able to see the broader context and transferable purpose of the project they are working on. Over the past 6 years they have cultivated a partnership with Lowry Solutions that has proved beneficial to both. They recently celebrated 7 students who finished an internship with Lowry over the past summer. Students worked in different areas of marketing, sales, administration, and IT. McBride said at the banquet she observed a genuine professional relationship between the students and the people of Lowry. One student was offered to continue working there as a paid intern and currently does so. McBride said that students being offered jobs after the program is not unheard of.

The New Tech program is part of the New Tech Network of which 200 schools nationwide participate in. It is a 3 year program that runs from 10th grade through graduation, and with freedom of choosing schools in Livingston County, is open to all students after completing 9th grade. During their junior year, students work on a project with Lowry and then can decide whether or not they wish to pursue an internship with the company during the following summer. (MK)