At McDaniels Kitchen and Bath we are both a local business and residents who are committed to serving our community.  Members of the McDaniels team enjoy supporting local events whenever possible.  This week we had the opportunity to attend the Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency (CCRESA) event held a DeWitt High School.

The CCRESA is an agency that supports local school districts with learning methods and educational opportunities, professional development for school personnel, and other important educational programs. The agency also offers business office services and support to area school districts.

Today’s CCRESA event was for 8th and 10th graders and was designed to provide the students an introduction to different industries.  Around 1,800 students were expected to attend this event. The idea was to give the young people a taster of each industry to help them better understand what it means to work in that field, and perhaps even inspire their future career choice!

Four groups of industries attended the event, including: 1) Health Sciences/ Arts and Communication, 2) Human Services/ Business Management/ Marketing / IT, 3) Engineering/Manufacturing/Natural Resources, and 4) Career Connections.  The McDaniels team participated as part of the third category, and we had six of our designers on hand to work with the students. There were a wide range of other industries represented, including the Armed Forces, EMTs, CAD technology, web services, and more.

Supporting our Local Community at the CCRESA DeWitt High School Event 2024

What did we do today to introduce these students to the field of home design and remodeling?  We conducted a “measuring clinic” as an interactive exercise, which allowed the students to get hands on experience.  Our team brought along a selection of laser measures, measuring tapes, graph paper, triangles, and pencils.  We taped off an area that represented a half bath on the floor for them to measure and encouraged them to work in groups of 2 or 3 using the tools provided.  Our team worked with at least 250 kids today, many of whom were very enthusiastic and engaged.  A few could even see themselves pursuing a career in design!

We found this to be a truly inspiring event, as well as a great way to connect with and give back to our local community.  One of our designers, Kelly Souden, even met a former client today!

Supporting our Local Community at the CCRESA DeWitt High School Event 2024

Jenna Wey, John Michael, Johanna Lubahn and Tracie Tiedt were also working with the students to help them understand the design process.  We hope the students enjoyed their time with us as much as we enjoyed working with them.