Ethicon Hosts San Angelo ISD Seniors for Facility Tour for Final Session of STEM2D Symposium

Central High School and Lake View High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) seniors graduating with a STEM endorsement completed the fourth and final session of the STEM2D Symposium Series this April with a tour of Ethicon’s manufacturing facilities here in San Angelo. STEM2D is a partnership between Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company, the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, Howard College, and Angelo State University which focuses on introducing SAISD students to STEM careers paths, encourages and promotes pursuing a future in manufacturing and engineering, and provides insight into how to achieve those futures through educational opportunities available at Howard and ASU. 

During the site tour of Ethicon, Students participated in three rotations which showcased the start to finish manufacturing process for the sutures produced by Ethicon including an engineering fair, and a tour of the machine shop and final processing manufacturing floor. An engineer walked students through the process of using coding, automation and artificial intelligence in the manufacturing process to detect and measure if an object is meeting the production requirements. 

Donning personal protective equipment, students entered the machine floor to see how the machinists operate, build, and create. The machinists gifted the students with two keychains, one the shape of Texas with a marker and their campus name and another saying “Building Trust through Quality - San Angelo Ethicon Machine Shop”. Then students entered the final processing manufacturing floor to see the suture kits being packaged and prepared to ship out nationwide. 

The tour ended with lunch with an Ethicon engineer where students were able to eat alongside working engineers, ask questions, and have candid conversations. Some questions included: “What do you like most about Ethicon?'', “Why did you choose to study engineering?”, “Do you have any advice for a high school senior?” and “Do you have any experience you want to share with us?”.  During the lunch, Rocio Lopez-Terrazas, Ethicon Event Coordinator, announced students who completed the STEM2D symposium series can apply for a $20,000 scholarship and internships at Ethicon. 

After the scholarship and internship application was announced, Ethicon Plant Manager David Quiros said “It is a dream come true having you here. It is about cultivating future employees and a continued workforce in San Angelo. Hopefully, many of you apply for the scholarship and we see you working for us in the future. Not only for Ethicon, but for any company in San Angelo - we need you guys. So, go out there and explore everything that is available to you, and study what you want to do. Be the best at whatever you choose.” 

Join SAISD in thanking our partners who helped make the Ethicon STEM2D Symposium Series possible and supporting opportunities for our STEM endorsement students to prepare for their future, whatever that future may be. Follow the San Angelo ISD Facebook, Twitter, and website, www.saisd.org to stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD. 

Johnson & Johnson STEM2D 

Johnson & Johnson seeks to cultivate interest in STEM²D at an early age and help young people in marginalized populations continue to grow and develop in these areas, preparing and positioning them to pursue higher education and careers in STEM²D. STEM²D is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing, and design. With this foundation, they are primed to make valuable contributions to their communities, companies, and the world in the decades ahead. Find out more by visiting their website at: www.stem2d.org/.