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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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WESLEY: Working in
aerospace as a machinist

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is a big responsibility because
you're making something that's

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going into a big jet plane.

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It's up to me to
make a good part.

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That's what's holding
the engines in the plane.

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I'm Wesley Hipolito, age 22,
and I go to Asnuntuk Community

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College.

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My dad used to play around
with a lot of paper airplanes.

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He used to show us how
he makes them.

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When I was in high
school, and I wasn't

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thinking about my future.

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You just want to enjoy
your high school years.

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And that's what
it was all about.

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It took me a while to
actually understand,

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this is an opportunity that
you can take and really

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get a step up on life.

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And when I finally realized
it, I just went for it.

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And I started loving it.

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I'd love to fly the plane
that I make a part for.

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I could say, hey,
I made that part.

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I know it's good.

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I was a good student.

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I loved history.

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I always had a hard
time with math.

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In my sophomore year, I
was in my drafting class.

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Just out of nowhere, this
flier was on the ground.

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And it said Asnuntuk Community
College, here in Connecticut.

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MOTHER: Wesley came home
from school with a flyer.

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I read it.

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And I come from a
manufacturing background.

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WESLEY: My mom, she
really pushes me to--

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pushes us.

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I'm the oldest of five.

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We call either the
bulldog or pit bull.

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If there's something she
wants, she'll go and do it.

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And she'll push us over the
edge of what we think we can do.

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MOTHER: And I said, hmm, we're
going to this open house.

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WESLEY: It was a huge step.

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It was one of the best
things I've ever gone into.

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I came into a program called
College Connections Program.

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A high school student
can come to Asnuntuk,

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for their last two
periods of school,

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to learn a trade in electronics,
machining, or welding.

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And I picked machining.

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And when I got into
machining and they showed me

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the equations in order to make
something, it just clicked.

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I got a reason to learn
that math and a reason

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to keep it in my head.

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Ready to go?

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TEACHER: Ready to go.

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FACULTY ADVISOR: I think it shows
that you can take

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college technology, the Pathway
Program, and this ATE Regional

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Center grant to any level that
any student would want to go.

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TEACHER: That looks pretty good.

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WESLEY: What is ATE
really fully about?

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TEACHER: The ATE stands
for Advanced Technological

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Education.

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And it's the NSF, the
National Science Foundation,

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that provides this grant,
through the Connecticut

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College of Technology,
so we could

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create the Regional Center for
Next Generation Manufacturing.

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DIR. MANUFACTURING TECH: The 
National Science Foundation

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saw that, unless
this country starts

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to invest in young people and
gets parents and educators

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involved and immersed
in what's happening

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in advanced manufacturing,
we are not going to succeed.

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We're going to
continue to lose jobs.

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TEACHER: What do you think?

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WESLEY: Perfect.

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TEACHER: Beautiful.

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We're in good shape.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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WESLEY: I got into another
program, which sets me up

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with a company.

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If I do good and my grades
are great and they like me,

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they'll give me a job
and pay for my last year

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in the manufacturing program.

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FLANAGAN CEO: We make
parts for jet engines,

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for both the aerospace and
the ground turbine industry.

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Our workforce was
aging, and we realized

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we needed to be more
proactive about creating

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the next generation
of machinists.

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DIR. MANUFACTURING TECH: We were able 
to go to Flanagan Industries

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and say, this is a
bright young person.

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This is a person with
the right attitude.

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And it's worked magically.

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He's now been with
Flanagan almost three years

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and continues to
grow and develop.

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WESLEY: When I graduated, they
just asked me, do I want a job?

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And I said, yeah!

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Got the job and that was it.

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I was working.

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Just, it was so smooth.

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FLANAGAN CEO: The primary
part that Wesley makes

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is the low pressure turbine
case that goes in the 135 Joint

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Strike Fighter.

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Wesley is capable of running
it because of the background he

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got here and because
of his willingness

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to learn and to
continue to learn.

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And that's one of the
most important attributes

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that we saw when
we first met him.

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WESLEY: Any dreams that I
have I can reach, I can get to.

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I'm in a really great
position in my life

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because from right
here, right now,

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I could go on to do anything.

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Just to have that knowledge
and have that confidence

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that I could make anything, and
I could do anything is awesome.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]