American Career College-Los Angeles optical technician students received an added bonus to their curriculum in July when their instructors took them on a field trip to see glass making in action.
Kari Cheevers, BA, ABOC, NCLEC, Program Director I, Optics at ACC-LA took her cohort on a field trip to the Southern California Kaiser Lab. Each day, 1,400 glasses are shipped from the facility to Kaiser facilities in California from Bakersfield to San Diego.
“Understanding every step of the optical business only improves the students’ ability to be the best employee for any company they work for, regardless of their role,” Cheevers said. “As instructors, we talk about the ‘real world’ and even show pictures and short YouTube videos, but the actual tour of the lab makes for an invaluable experience.”
Julio Lopez, a first-year ACC-LA optical technician student, said the trip was fun and informative.
“Kaiser provided us with an insight to the manufacturing side of optics and introduced us to free-form surfacing, a newer technology in our field,” Lopez said.
During the lab tour, managers discussed what qualities they look for when hiring employees and the ACC students were also able to speak with many ACC graduates who now work for Kaiser.
“This reinforced what we tell them,” Cheevers said. “The optical world is a small community and your reputation is known throughout.”
