The Applied Agricultural Engineering barn at Madison High School’s Agriscience Magnet Program (AMP) is impressive.
There are welding booths, plasma cutters, grinders, tractors, half-built BBQ pits and lots of other machines that do lots of other things. There, you’ll also find seniors Tori Moberley and Josef Miksch.
“I am here whenever I can be,” said Tori. “Being in this shop is the happiest I have been in Ag. It makes school fun, actually.”
Tori was supposed to attend Reagan High School but switched to Madison High School for AMP.
“I started off wanting to be a veterinarian,” said Tori. “But I looked at all the programs we have here. I kind of wanted to try a shop class. Why not see what I like most out of all of them? Once I tried welding, I realized this is definitely where I want to be.”
Josef has a similar story. He was slated to attend Roosevelt High School but knew he wanted to do something with agriculture. He’s also taken advantage of the program’s offerings. AMP offers six pathways for our students; Agribusiness, Applied Agricultural Engineering, Animal Science, Environmental and Natural Resources, Food Science and Plant Science.
“I tried a few other things, but now I am learning mechanics and welding,” said Josef. “Now I realize I want to become a machinist in the future.”
Tori and Josef’s experiences at AMP made them perfect candidates for a summer internship with Cox Manufacturing. They are now getting paid because of the knowledge they gained from hands-on lessons at AMP.
“It had enough shop knowledge that we didn’t have to teach them that,” said Cox Manufacturing Talent Manager Sean Althaus. “They were able to hit the ground running. They came in and immediately started adding value to the team. We are excited about the future.”
This was the first year AMP partnered with Cox Manufacturing, but it won’t be the last. The students loved the experience, and Cox loved how respectful and eager the students were to learn. In fact, Cox sent a couple of their technicians to the shop recently to help ensure all the equipment students have access to is ready for the first day of school.
