School 2 Work Program Helps Students Find Jobs

Michelle MachenOur Stories, Small Packaging

On June 10, Marcus Nunn and Devin Morris recent high school graduates signed on to work for the Mauser Packaging Solutions Small Packaging facility in LaGrange, Georgia as part of the School 2 Work program. The School 2 Work program is part of a recent push to help students find jobs in local industries.

Mauser Store Image

Mauser Packaging Solutions Plant Manager Adam Worsley and Human Resources Manager Michael McSpadden look on as Marcus Nunn and Devin Morris sign on to work at Mauser

“It used to be a prideful thing that you graduated then you went to work, and for some reason, it became not that,” said Scott Malone from the City of the LaGrange Economic Development Office. “It should be, and we want to celebrate [these students]. You are starting a career in a great way and obviously with a great company that has been here a long time and will be very, very successful.”

Marcus Nunn, the new youth employee at Mauser, is looking forward to starting his career in manufacturing. Nunn said, “I was planning to go to college but I needed to go to work first because I need the money for college. This is a great way to help me out. This has really given me confidence about my future and has actually given me a plan on what to do next. I feel tremendously blessed for this opportunity. All these people are thanking me and congratulating me. I am going to take this by the hand and go as far as I can go with it.”

 “The School 2 Work program responds to a need that has been in our community for probably the last decade,” said Adam Worsley, plant manager at Mauser. “Nothing says community more than our children graduating from high school becoming adults in the workplace.”

Administrators from LaGrange and Troup high schools attended the signings, offering the support of the schools to their alumni, while thanking Mauser for giving the graduates a chance.

“We feel like we do a pretty good job setting these guys up in good shape to go out into the workforce, but that bridge just hasn’t been there,” said Tyler Dunn, assistant principal at Troup County High School. “There has been a little bit of a disconnect from the school to work, and so this program being in place … bodes so well for our community as a whole.”

By Alicia B. Hill
The LaGrange Daily News