NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rockwell Labs Ltd. this spring continued its successful internship program to encourage young women to pursue careers in science and engineering.
High school students Katie Prendergast, Taylor Messer and Ashlyn Liska completed the program through Northland CAPS (Center for Advanced Professional Studies) in which they worked at Rockwell for two and a half hours per day during the 2016 Spring Semester in lieu of normal class work.
The students each spent time working in both the chemistry laboratory and the manufacturing area. Chemistry lab work included product quality control and specification testing, formulation work and product development. According to Rockwell, the company recently purchased its most advanced piece of high-speed, automated manufacturing equipment to date in the manufacturing area. The students assisted in the extensive testing and qualification to get the new machine running and producing product according to its specifications. They also assisted in the ongoing implementation of the company’s 5S and advanced manufacturing initiatives.
Both Prendergast and Messer graduated from high school in the spring and Liska has one more year. All three students have paid internships at Rockwell over the summer. Prendergast will attend Kansas State University in chemical engineering this fall. Messer will attend Creighton University in Nebraska to study biochemistry. Liska enjoys chemistry lab work and is looking forward to completing another CAPS internship this coming year in a different area of chemistry.
In addition, Sarah Piburn, who had participated in the CAPS program in spring of 2015, worked at Rockwell during winter break this past year and is now back this summer after completing her first successful year of engineering school.
“I continue to be impressed by the many talents and the drive and poise of these young women,” said Rockwell founder and CEO, Dr. Cisse Spragins. “Taylor is definitely the academic one with a strong interest in research, and is an accomplished flute player as well. Katie is outgoing and practical, and has also spent the last three years assisting in the broadcasting of various sporting events. And Ashlyn, well, she just gets it done.”
(Pictured, from left to right, students Katie Prendergast, Taylor Messer and Ashlyn Liska. These young ladies recently finishded up their internship at Rockwell Labs Ltd.)