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RACH
Grad Comes Full
Circle With His Career
Mark
Wright completed his Refrigeration/Air Conditioning and
Heating Technology (RACH) degree in 1986 and went to work
for a local contractor, Koolco Inc., in Wakefield, RI. He
never dreamed that eighteen years later he would find himself
at the front of a class teaching heating, ventilation and
air conditioning (HVAC) to high school students in Vermont,
and being named "Instructor of the Year" by "The
Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration News" trade
publication, a weekly contractor newspaper covering industry
news and events.
Mark has enjoyed a successful career in the service end of
HVAC beginning at Koolco Inc. as an apprentice technician.
He later moved on to Cumberland Farms as a refrigeration technician
and was responsible for servicing 35 stores in Vermont. Mark
became involved with teaching after his wife spotted an ad
for a teacher at the local Green Mountain Technology and Career
Center. He applied for the job and was hired almost immediately.
He was given the enormous task of starting the first HVAC
program at a Vermont high school, or anywhere in Vermont for
that matter. As Mark tells his story, "I took the job
in July of 2001, and took a small budget of around $15,000
and headed off on my journey. I begged, borrowed, and convinced
the industry giants like York, Carrier and Burnham to donate
$50,000 worth of tools, equipment and materials, resulting
in quite an offering here at our small school."
His students nominated Mark for the "Instructor of the
Year" award during his first year of teaching. He is
now in his fourth year, and in 2002 sent his top student in
the Vermont State VICA SkillsUSA contest to Kansas City, MO
to compete in the national competition. When asked what advice
he would give to current NEIT grads, Mark stated, "In
order to improve and stay current in this business, you need
continuous education and training. There are many more safety
and environmental issues today that skilled service technicians
need to address."
Mark still has close ties to RI and currently resides in Walden,
VT with his wife and five children.
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Successful
Business
With A "Dirty Bird"
Did
you ever have a really good idea for a product but just didn't
know how to go about making it a reality? Stan Sreda, an NEIT
graduate with a BS in Manufacturing Engineering Technology
(MET), knows all about this.
Stan and his co-worker, William Trout, had a basic idea for
a septic vent concealer that would cover and disguise those
ugly septic vent pipes that stick up through the ground in
backyards. Stan had a rough idea for the product design but
needed help developing and planning the steps involved for
the actual manufacturing process. It just so happened that
Stan had a senior project assignment in one of his MET classes
that would allow him to expand on his idea and work on the
manufacturing process. It was through his senior project that
Stan and William, now business partners, realized just how
big an undertaking this was going to be.
The two went ahead and obtained the necessary patents and
determined the best manufacturing process for their product;
and with that, BS Design Corp. was born. They named their
product the "Dirty Bird" septic vent concealer.
Bruce Feodoroff, Department Chair for Manufacturing Engineering
Technology, had this to say about Stan's senior project, "Stan
Sreda is one of those students an instructor doesn't forget.
The original concept design and the first generation prototype
for the "Dirty Bird" was part of Stan's senior capstone
project at NEIT. Using a plastic salad bowl, two large round
serving trays, a large traffic cone, fiberglass cloth and
epoxy, and a six inch diameter PVC rod, Stan was able to construct
his original prototype which can be seen outside the MET Lab
in the Gouse Building. After several design revisions, the
final product emerged which also can be seen in the MET Lab.
I would like to think that we at NEIT provided Stan with some
of those tools needed to make the "Dirty Bird" a
reality.
Stan received his degrees in both Manufacturing Engineering
Technology and Mechanical Design Technology. He previously
worked for Albany International in the research and development
division. While at Albany, he worked on new product design
using modern 3D solid modeling software. William Trout is
a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology's Industrial
Designer program. William has done work with several design
firms in the Boston area while also developing personal products
and problem solving for specific applications. Combining their
talents, the pair is able to bring the latest product design
and development for new consumer products to their growing
business.
Since the idea inception in 1994, Stan and William have come
a long way to establish a successful business plan and are
in the process of developing new products. They travel the
country to attend trade show events and always find it endearing
when people recognize the "Dirty Bird." The company
was also featured in an article in Investors' Digest, "Flying
High With The Dirty Bird." Due to recent business expansion,
BS Design Corp. is now located at 216 North Main Street, Sharon,
MA 02067, www.bsdesigners.com.
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