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Building on the Hawk Academy, a successful partnership with Gavilan College, four Anzar High School students have been studying a cutting-edge technology called “mechatronics” in a class offered at Hartnell College’s Alisal campus.
Ben Grainger, Hartnell’s director of college readiness and dual enrollment, said Anzar counselor Julie Casteneda-Hicks contacted him over a year ago, looking for additional opportunities for the school’s students.
“They seemed really interested in our new program in advanced manufacturing and mechatronics,” he said. “It’s kind of an interdisciplinary field with a lot of robotics, electrical engineering and some programming.”
Casteneda-Hicks said she was attracted to the subject because it incorporates so many fields of study. “It just sounded like, if I were a kid, it would be fun for me,” she said. “I would love to take the class and do all those things, and I think kids are lucky to have these experiences now, when this wasn’t around in my day.”
Grainger said mechatronics, which has applications in agriculture, is one of those things you really have to see in order to understand it.
“It requires technicians who know how to set up the machines, calibrate them, troubleshoot and fix them. There’s a lot that goes into designing the systems and running them. We’re attracting students who maybe didn’t even consider this a possibility.”
Eric Painter, who also teaches welding and manufacturing at Hartnell, conducts the class. He said that while the fast-paced college class is not for everyone, the Anzar students have been able to keep up.
“It gives those students advanced knowledge and an understanding of what they need to think about for their careers,” he said. “It gives them a little bit of a preview of what to expect in the future, and hopefully they also get some really useful skills out of the class.”
It also allows the students to use expensive equipment and software that a small school like Anzar could never afford.
“I think we’ve spent $2 million in each of the last two summers,” said Painter. “This is equipment that Hartnell doesn’t generally afford but due to the excitement about this and local industry support, we’ve been able to get grants to do this.”
The students train with modular workstations that can be configured in a nearly infinite number of ways. These include machines similar to one that Taylor Farms use, employing robotics and automated hydraulic tools to chop vegetables, mix other ingredients and package its popular salad kits.
The students work with professional equipment from companies like Snap-on Tools and software and components designed by Festo, a world leader in automation. They earn micro-certifications for each skill or tool they master.
Aiden Munoz with pneumatic machines and conveyor belt. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Hartnell instructor Eric Painter with electrical equipment. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Hartnell teacher Eric Painter with Anzar students. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Hartnell teacher Eric Painter at modular workstation. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Hartnell teacher Eric Painter with the Anzar students. Photo by Robert Eliason.
“As they finish a test,” Painter said, “they’ll get a piece of paper that says ‘Festo has certified me with this.’ Or ‘Snap-on has certified that I can use this tool.’ They’ll have that stack of micro-certifications to go with their classes, much like the auto industry.”
Painter said these micro-certifications might initially be more important than a degree because they tell potential employers what specific equipment a prospective hire is qualified to use.
“If they go to a Festo shop and are certified on Festo and know the Festo parts, they can step right in and deal with Festo without any problems,” he said. “Maybe the certification is what gets them the initial job.”
Anzar student Aiden Munoz thinks the micro-certifications will enhance his college applications and could also help get him an internship. Hicks cites Munoz as one of the driving forces in encouraging the school to join in the mechatronics class.
“Throughout my life I’ve been wanting to become an electrical engineer because family members were in engineering or electrical,” Munoz said. “Miss Hicks asked me if I wanted to do it and pushed hard enough to get it.”
So far, Munoz has learned how to build conveyor belts, grabbers, compressors and other components, all of which are controlled by a Mech Lab app. The small versions of the equipment they use can be scaled up for industrial use.
“If you like electrical work or want to work in agriculture, this is the best thing you can be doing,” he said.
For Hicks, the success of the program opens the door to other possibilities for students to be exposed to new technology in a well-equipped learning environment.
“I would love to grow the agricultural component for Anzar,” Hicks said. “We are in the middle of ag fields and have a lot of students who come from agricultural backgrounds. It would be great to do more collaborative work with Hartnell to honor that community.”
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