This story is part of an ongoing series, Powering Change: Panasonic and De Soto. If you'd like to share your excitement or concerns about the electric vehicle battery plant, you can do so here.
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Inside the Unified School District 232’s Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC), high school students are working on art for the city of De Soto, Kansas.
As De Soto continues togrow and prepares to welcome the Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant, these USD 232 students have become an exciting part of what’s to come.
CTEC is part of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS). Through the program, USD 232 high school students have the opportunity to gain real-world, hands-on experience in fields like technology, bioscience and design.
“Those are the jobs of the future,” said CTEC Building Administrator Tim Mispagel. “And automation is a very up-and-coming need.”
Mispagel helps lead the program. He said he sees future opportunities for his students with Panasonic, but the competition is crowded.
He said the program has already partnered with Huhtamaki, and CTEC is gaining attention from other big local names, like Garmin. There aren't any formal partnerships in place with Panasonic at the moment.
"We're working to develop that curriculum and work with partners to let us know, what do you need, and how can we best prepare students for your opportunity?" Mispagel said.
A group of CTEC students is currently making a sculpture for the city of De Soto. They asked residents for feedback on what artwork they wanted to see.
A sunflower was the unsurprising — and ironic — result. It’s a statewide staple, of course, but it’s also a nod to the historic Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant that Panasonic is replacing.
De Soto High School senior Miller Benak is one of the students on the project. He said he sees how De Soto is growing, too.
"Everything's changing. Nothing's like it used to be,” he said. “It's good for the town and good for everyone around it."
But even as De Soto prepares for what's to come, the students are still shining a light on what's shaped their city.
Benak is on the fast track to his dream job as a welder. He said hard work and hands-on skills run in his family.
"I've learned to fall in love with it, and it's just what I like to do,” Benak said.
He plans to get his welding certificate at Manhattan Tech after he graduates.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.