PBS39 Sponsors Event Featuring Middle School Video Contest
Bethlehem, Pa. — Feburary 28, 2018 — Last night, over 900 people attended the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Awards ceremony held at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. PBS39 gets involved by advising the students and helping them create and edit their videos. Celebrating its fifth year with an expansion across Pennsylvania, the program was created by the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) in partnership with PBS39 and Sahl Communications.
“The dedication of the students, teacher-coaches, and the manufacturers is the reason this contest is so successful and continues to grow. PBS39 is so proud of ALL the student teams in the ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ contest,” says Matt Lewis, Education Media Specialist at PBS39. “It is my pleasure to be a part of assisting the students through the storytelling process as they discover career and education opportunities they may have not been previously aware of.”
The video with the most votes received the “Viewer’s Choice Award.” The videos were also reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in nine other categories, including Outstanding Educational Value, Outstanding Marketing and Outstanding Creativity.
The Student Video Contest: “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) gives students in Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties the opportunity to connect directly with local manufacturers, document their experiences and present them in an educational and “cool” way through documentary video production. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students toward considering manufacturing career paths.
“The students and their teachers put an amazing amount of work into their projects, meeting with manufacturers, filming and editing their videos,” said Jack Pfunder, President & CEO of Manufacturers Resource Center. “The success of this program across the state of Pennsylvaina, and the country, validates its design, which is to raise awareness for manufacturing career opportunites for our students by letting them discover they are cool. Viewing their work online and voting supports the students, their schools, and manufacturing in the region.”
This years awards are listed below
1. Outstanding Overall Program: Northeast Middle School/Atlas Machinery
2. Outstanding Editing: Lower Macungie Middle School/ProtoCam
3. Outstanding Creativity: Sacoun Valley Middle School/Solar Tech
4. Outstanding “COOL”: (Tie) Raub Middle School/Dynelene East Hills Middle School/Primal Critical
5. Outstanding Team Spirit: Wilson Area Intermediate/Victaulic
6. Outstanding educational Value: Broughal Middle School/Eastern Surfaces
7. Outstanding Videography: Springhouse Middle School/Crayola
8. Viewers Choice: Northampton Middle School/B.Braun Medical
9. Outstanding Marketing: Nazareth Area Middle School/Equipto
10. Outstanding Career Pathway: Whitehall-Coplay/Follette
For more information regarding the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Video Contest, please visit whatssocool.org, facebook.com/WSCMLV and Twitter: @WSCMCHLV.
About “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing:
“What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” (WSCM) is a manufacturing video contest for middle school students developed by a partnership directed by Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) in 2013 and shared through the What’s So Cool platform.Initial funds for the Lehigh Valley Skill Up effort were provided by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s “Discovered in PA, Developed in PA” program. WSCMLV is a partnership directed by MRC in Allentown, Pa and is dedicated to changing perceptions and attitudes in the Keystone State about advanced manufacturing careers. This year’s Lehigh Valley contest includes 30 teams representing 22 school districts from Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties and a pilot team from Bucks County.
About Manufacturers Resource Center:
Since 1988, the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) has helped small and mid-sized manufacturers become more competitive, adopt lean and agile processes, strategically grow their companies and invest more effectively in their existing human capital. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST-MEP program, as well as the State of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. The MRC is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunity in eastern Pennsylvania’s Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.
About PBS39
PBS39 is a community-owned public television station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pa., serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. For more information, visit wlvt.org.
Information Provided By:
Tyler Winston
PR & Marketing Coordinator
PBS39
