On Friday, March 22, despite the snow, students from Catholic Central participated in a Drive Development Day by taking a field trip to HH Barnum in Brighton. 

Drive Development Days are hosted on the Fridays after Drive when students have earned time off by raising money for need-based tuition assistance. These professional learning opportunities are designed to teach students valuable life skills that aren’t traditionally taught in the classroom. Topics vary each year and may include college visits, car maintenance, stress and wealth management, resume building, interviewing tips, and more.  

During their field trip to HH Barnum, a premier distributor of controls, products, and solutions for factory automation, students participated in a warehouse tour, an automation trailer tour, and hands-on training.  

According to Colleen Scagnetti, Chief Financial Officer at HH Barnum, students began by taking a tour of Barnum’s 50,000 square foot warehouse space, where they were provided with detailed descriptions of the roles of the Customer Service, Shipping and Receiving, Technical Support, and Application teams.  

Students then moved on to a tour of the automation trailer. “On the tour of our 46-foot-long Factory Automation Trailer, students discussed industrial safety in the marketplace, industry networking, and mechanical applications, such as press and motion,” stated Scagnetti.  

They finished the field trip by conducting hands-on training. “In our Tech Center training room, students interacted with several product demonstrations and learned the fundamentals of basic electricity, field wiring, and inductive sensors,” Scagnetti explained.