Ava Raugust, a 17-year-old bilingual agriscientist and engineer, joined the Gen Z in Manufacturing podcast's latest episode to discuss her robotics and engineering experience and what keeps high school students from pursuing manufacturing careers.
Raugust is currently a high school senior in California, where she is the president and co-founder of her high school’s robotics team. Her experiences and accomplishments include an internship with DPR Construction, a first place finish in the high school division of the SME Digital Manufacturing Challenge and, most recently, recognition by SME as one of the 2023 “30 Under 30” honorees.
After high school, Raugust plans to pursue a four-year undergraduate degree in civil engineering and possibly a minor in environmental engineering.
Most Read from IEN:
- Podcast: Toyota Company Won't Reopen Factories; Space Station Blows Up; Ford Cuts Lightning Production
- Lockheed, NVIDIA Make AI-Powered Digital Twin to Predictive the Weather
- First Human Receives Neuralink Implant
- BMW to Add Humanoid Bots to Auto Production
Robotics played a significant role in attracting Raugust to engineering and manufacturing. However, she admitted that better marketing is needed to reach the younger generation.
“There hasn’t been enough push to pull younger people into [manufacturing],” Raugust said. “I, for example, only found out about [SME] because I was scrolling through engineering newsletters. I don’t think a lot of high schoolers just scroll through email newsletters. There should be another incentive to get the younger generation more involved.”
Also in the episode, Raugust discusses women in manufacturing and engineering and the debate between four-year degrees and trade/vocational schools.
Gen Z in Manufacturing Episodes
- Ep. 1: Gen Z Just Wants to Work Differently
- Ep. 2: Interacting with Older Generations
- Ep. 3: Young Workers Have Been Programmed to Handle Cobots
- Ep. 4: Employers Should Put Emphasis on 'We Will Train You'
- Ep. 5: Young Workers Can Challenge the Traditional Process
- Ep. 6: Gen Z Wants More Responsibility, Sense of Purpose
- Ep. 7: Gen Z Passion Toward Manufacturing ‘More Prevalent’ Abroad
If you are a member of Gen Z and would like to discuss your experience in the manufacturing industry, please contact Nolan Beilstein at [email protected].
