Pittsburgh Event Pays Immediate Dividends For WWW

When We Work The Waterways held an industry interaction day in Pittsburgh October 21, for executive director Errin Howard, it was like going back to where it all began. Back in 2011, Pittsburgh hosted the very first Who Works The Rivers event, which was a forerunner of We Work The Waterways’ industry interaction days.

In October, just as 14 years ago, the Waterways Association of Pittsburgh was a key sponsor of the event, with Pittsburgh’s Gateway Clipper Fleet hosting high school students who spent the day on a passenger vessel touring the city’s three rivers and discovering the opportunities available to them in the maritime industry.

Amazingly, the students who turned out for the industry interaction day last month were just toddlers when that first group of Pittsburgh high schoolers were in their place.

Howard said the October 21 event drew about 160 students from five area high schools.

“We started the day with a welcome parade,” Howard said. “Half of the kids went aboard one of the Gateway Clipper Fleet boats, while the other half started with the PPE activity.”

Always a crowd favorite, the PPE activity demonstrates, through the use of a watermelon and hard hat and hot dogs posing as toes, the importance of personal protection equipment.

“Then we cruised all three rivers together on one boat while eating lunch,” Howard said. “A lot of those kids had never been on a boat, so in addition to learning about the maritime industry, they were getting an incredible experience with the boat ride as well.”

Mike Graham, director of marine and maintenance for the Gateway Clipper Fleet, said his company, as part of the Waterways Association of Pittsburgh, loves taking part in the We Work The Waterways industry interaction days.

“It’s nice to show them what we do and how we do it,” Graham said. “A lot of them had no idea that these jobs existed, that there are so many opportunities in the industry and that these jobs can pay well even without a college degree.”

Graham said the Gateway Clipper Fleet always donates a boat and crew, along with lunch, for the industry interaction days.

“Usually, we do some educational stations on one boat and a Prezi presentation on another boat,” he said.

John Hardisty, a port mate with Campbell Transportation Company, said his company had four people to help lead this industry interaction day, including two port mates leading the line-handling station. Hardisty doesn’t hide the fact that jobs in the maritime industry can be hard. At the same time, for people who stick with it, the maritime industry can provide a lifetime of opportunity.

“It was told to me, if you stay long enough to wear out your first pair of boots, you’ll be here forever,” Hardisty said.

Hardisty loves sharing his story with the kids, he said. His father served in the Navy, his grandfather was in the Coast Guard, and he has a brother who works for the Corps of Engineers. He started in the industry when he was just 19, and he now has 15 years under his belt.

“I love telling my story,” he said. “I love those kids. If you plant a seed early, it grows. Even if it’s just one of them, it’s beneficial.”

Jeff Hufnagel, college and career preparation teacher at South Park High School, said this was the third year in a row that he’s brought a group of students to the industry interaction day. It’s not just a field trip for his kids. Hufnagel said it’s part of a years-long effort to prepare kids for life after high school and to introduce them to the full suite of career paths within the maritime industry.

His students learn to create a post-high school budget. For those bound for college, he helps them formulate a college budget and a post-college budget. For kids who participate in the We Work The Waterways industry interaction day, Hufnagel held a mandatory pre-event meeting to lay the groundwork for the day on the river.

“I shared the We Work The Waterways website, and I went through all the jobs listed there,” he said.

Doing that ahead of the event can make it have a bigger impact, he said.

Hufnagel said that, for one of his students, the industry interaction day has already borne fruit, with a company following up and inviting him out to another event.

Following the event, a representative from the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) reached out to Howard to see how the two organizations could collaborate. ACTE represents more than 30,000 career and technical education teachers, administrators and counselors around the country.

“She heard about We Work The Waterways through the local media covering our event in Pittsburgh,” Howard said. “It’s exciting for word to get out about what we’re doing.”

————

Featured photo caption: Nearly 160 students attended the Pittsburgh event, which included a tour aboard one of the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s vessels. (Photo courtesy of We Work The Waterways)