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12 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2023 you include educators), and it works through four core tracks. e first track involves a tour of our manufacturing operations, where stu- dents see our processes and machines, and meet the people working here, which I think is the most important part because you see all the different careers that manufacturing can offer. e second track puts SEL engineers, tech- nicians, and others into the classrooms, where they talk about their careers. We usually cou- ple that with an activity, so the kids get a taste of what that career looks and feels like. e next track is events, like our Get- ting Ready for Engineering and Technology (GREAT) Day, where we host students from around the region to learn from our profes- sionals, see our manufacturing processes, and understand how engineering and manufactur- ing are connected. At this event, we host about 100 students from more than a dozen schools around the region. e day looks like this: Students arrive at SEL by 8:30 a.m., where they're warmly greeted at an opening session. From there, they attend breakout sessions that involve problem-solv- ing activities. For example, it could be with our user experience group, where they learn about design and how to incorporate customer feed- back. Aer the group activities, we take them to the manufacturing floor where we have set up displays that feature certain elements of the manufacturing process: cables, chassis of our relays, or some robotics. We also incorporate some design challenges, so the students take what they've learned and create some idea or a product. We conclude the event with lunch, where attendees are joined by SEL engi- neers and manufacturing experts. Students get to chat, ask questions, and show the engi- neers the work they've done throughout the day. is gives the engineers an opportunity to provide feedback as well. Everyone here is an employee-owner, and they volunteer their time to help. It's a full day, a lot of fun, and we all love it. e fourth track is special projects, and I'm really excited about this one. For example, we recently partnered with a local high school robotics class, challenging them to solve a real problem: We asked them to figure out how to automate one of our manual processes. We just saw the CAD model the other day, and they will present a prototype of an automated solu- tion to this pressing problem in a couple of months. ese are high school kids doing this, and it doesn't get more authentic than that. Matties: Having the SEL employee-owners take part is what really makes this work. I agree. In addition to our K-12 program, we have a corporate giving program, and educa- tion is one of our three areas of focus for philan- thropy. One of our favorite giving initiatives is our School Donation Program where we invite employee-owners to direct $100 of SEL funds to a school of their choice. We just wrapped up this year's program and our employees directed more than $600,000 to roughly 1,700 schools around the world. John Cassleman