Livingston County, MI, 2015 —Fifteen Pinckney New Tech High School students participated in an internship program with Lowry Solutions, the leading provider of enterprise mobility solutions. Each student completed a 40-hour internship earning valuable hands-on work experience; Lowry experienced firsthand the drive and excellence to expect from the next generation of professionals. Lowry Solutions is headquartered in Brighton, MI. www.lowrysolutions.com. info@lowrysolutions.com.
The relationship between Pinckney Community Schools and Lowry Solutions began in 2012. Since then, 56 students have taken advantage of the opportunity to complete internships with the company, gaining real-life work experience and insight into future career possibilities.
For Lowry Solutions’ President and CEO, Michael Lowry, partnering with New Tech High School fit perfectly with the company’s ongoing commitment to provide education-based opportunities, both internally and to the community.
“I was delighted when Pinckney approached me about partnering for an internship program,” said Lowry. “But I had no desire to see kids stuffing envelopes or following people around. We wanted to be sure they were doing something meaningful and working on projects Lowry could put into productive use.”
Each year, department heads from Lowry meet to discuss potential projects for interns, the number of interns that will be needed for each project and who will mentor each student. The topic and scope of the internships change every year based on the company’s needs and the interests of New Tech students.
Among other things, Pinckney students have been responsible for testing software, creating spreadsheets Lowry can utilize to search product specifications, designing websites, creating marketing materials such as brochures and videos, compiling sustainability reports, planning Lowry’s booth for a trade show in Las Vegas, writing blogs for the company, and much more.
“Students get valuable real-world experience they can use in their lives,” said Pinckney New Tech High’s program coordinator Matt Jerome of the Lowry internship program. “They get a resume-builder for future jobs, college admissions and scholarships. They get experience networking and they get to see first-hand what life is like in the business world,” Jerome said.
The selection process for Lowry interns challenges students to put forth their best effort. Each year, students in Pinckney’s New Tech program are assigned business-use cases around which they create presentations. The students then share their ideas with a board of executives from Lowry Solutions. Based on their performance, their professional demeanor, and the merit of their ideas, students are invited to serve as interns for the company.
“You hear so many negative things about kids these days having no ambition, but our people are blown away by the knowledge base of the students who come to us from Pinckney for these internships,” said Lowry. “All of us look forward to the enthusiasm and talent these young people bring to the table.”
At the conclusion of their internships, some students [were] invited to stay on as paid employees through the remainder of the summer to continue working on their projects.
In addition to the internship program, Pinckney students benefit in other ways from the relationship with Lowry Solutions. Employees from the company present small and large group assemblies for Pinckney High School students each year on a variety of topics including social media, qualifications and expectations for various jobs in the business world and dress etiquette in the workplace.
Lowry also partners with the high school by providing a project each year for the Junior English class. The project varies but typically engages students in working to solve actual challenges faced by Lowry and its business partners.
The relationship between Pinckney Community Schools and Lowry Solutions is a win-win for everyone involved.
“Livingston County has some of the best and brightest right here in our community and we should all be proud,” said Lowry. “There are great young individuals out there getting ready to shine.”
About Lowry Solutions
Lowry Solutions is the total solutions provider of enterprise mobility solutions and AIDC technology for diverse application challenges in a wide range of industries. Since 1974 we have evolved alongside our customers to provide the most complete and contemporary data collection solutions available.
Content developed in partnership with Pinckney New Tech High School.
