Students from Moon Area Middle School were presented with the question “How has manufacturing changed your life?”.
Below you will see some of their answers.
A quote from their teacher Ian Finn: “The kids gained a knowledge of Pittsburgh Manufacturing in addition to learning about the history of their family. I think they will remember doing this project for many years to come. I think you might have gained a few more future manufacturers thanks to the project!”
Troy: Manufacturing has touched my life because my dad works at AUMA where the produce actuators. The manufacturing of actuators is important. Actuators are very important because they are used on a day to day basis in electric door locks, automobiles, and many other things. Actuators are all around us and without them our day to day lives would begin to change. I am very thankful for my dads company and all of the things that they produce for our use daily.
Alayna: Manufacturing has touched my life in many ways, but I think the biggest way is through the production of apple products. We are all facing one of the toughest times of our lives. Our normal worlds were turned upside. Things we once took for granted such as going to the store, attending in person instruction in school, hanging out with friends, and gathering with family have all been taken away. Our phones, iPads, and MacBook’s were important before, but now they are priceless. They are our means of communication with our grandparents, friends, and have now become our classroom. We have learned to have virtual sleepovers, virtual basketball practice, and virtual holiday dinners. Without the manufacturing of these products our lives would all be a lot lonelier. Without these products our mental health would all suffer.
Grace: Manufacturing hasn’t just touched my life, it has touched many other’s lives too. I have relatives who worked in the steal mills. Manufacturing in the medical field has touched my family. When one of my family members got in an accident, the new inventions helped him get better sooner. The manufacturing of this made sure that they were able to live and pull through the accident. Without the help from these new inventions, my family member may have not made it through his accident.
Elissa: Manufacturing touches everybody’s lives everyday. Us as people rely on manufacturing to give us the products we need to survive. This could be something as small as a water bottle cap or just a singular crayon. Manufacturing has affected my life in so many ways. An example of this would be art supplies. Art is one of my favorite hobbies. If I didn’t have the supplies to express my creativity then I would be much different compared to how I am now. Technology as we know it would be tremendously different as well. People use manufactured products dozens of times everyday and don’t even realize it. Examples of this would be soap, paper, and many other basic products. If we didn’t have manufacturing, the world would be so much different. That’s how manufacturing has touched my life and everyone’s lives.
Justin: Manufacturing has affected my life by providing me with most everything I need. Our house is built out of manufactured wood and siding and practically everything inside it is too. Even the shoes on my feet and the clothes that I wear are manufactured somewhere. Best of all are all the manufactured computer parts that I have to play video games. Without the manufactured parts of the computers we could not be having virtual school. Manufacturing is the best!
Avery: Manufacturing has impacted me and my family in many ways. My direct relatives used to work back in the mills when my parents were very young. It was hard when they lost their jobs and influenced my parents up bringing’s greatly. My dad’s side of the family owns a company that produces custom things. They sell shirts, mugs, stickers, blankets and stuff like that. They are very hard working and wouldn’t have as much of the things they do now without manufacturing. I love gaming so my computers and everything I use has to be manufactured from somewhere. My family has gained a lot from the economy and how things are produced over the years. I have thought about joining the factories and working in that before. It would be cool to be able to produce things to better society. I hope to see the manufacturing business get more hype and continue to make life easier and more effective for humans.
Brady: Manufacturing has touched my life because my dad works in the manufacturing business. He works for U.S. Steel, he plans out how the steel is going to be made then sends it to the people for them to make it. A product I couldn’t live without is probably my Xbox and I may be exaggerating but I do love it it lets me socialize with people from all around the world. I have visited the U.S. Steel tower many times on take your kid to work day and it is an amazing place to be there is so much you can do and see, and the view from my dad’s window (which is near the top) is beautiful. That is how manufacturing has touched my life.
Sawyer: My Grandma had worked in manufacturing and still does, because of this she has shown me what type of job it is. I know that it is a good job and a good paying one as well. It has also made my grandma very happy which has made me happy and thankful. Overall i am thankful for the opportunity of the manufacturing industry.
Edwin: I have learned a lot about manufacturing while working on this project. I didn’t know much about manufacturing, but when I started working on this project I learned a lot more about names such as Carnegie and Heinz and their impact on Pittsburgh. I learned a lot about how Pittsburgh transformed from a smoky dirty “Metal Town” to a sleek and futuristic place. One product that I use daily is my cellular phone. I believe that manufacturing has made our community stronger because now that we have many different industries we have a lot more diversity and knowledge.
Christopher: Manufacturing has definitely affected my life. In some ways it shaped who I am today. Many toys I grew up playing with were manufactured. One of those toys were Legos. I used to play with Legos all the time. I would have fun creating things for hours. I think playing with the Legos has made me a more creative person. I never would have become as creative as I am today without the manufacturing of Legos.