Ohio State-Marion salutes the first graduates of engineering technology program

In May 2020, The Ohio State University Board of Trustees voted to approve a new major in engineering technology through the College of Engineering to be offered on Ohio State’s regional campuses. The goal was to prepare graduates with skills needed for high-demand jobs in Ohio ? a group of business-oriented engineering leaders to lead the factories of tomorrow.

Four years later, that vision has come to fruition. Ohio State Marion students Alex Cabungcal of Lewis Center, Justin Hix of Prospect, Chase Kennedy of Johnstown and Owen Peters of Marion are among the first group of students to earn a bachelor of science in engineering technology.

Peters shared what a momentous accomplishment being part of the university’s first cohort of engineering technology graduates is to him.

“I am very proud of what my classmates and I were able to accomplish,” Peters said. “I think about what a historical university Ohio State is ? the weight the name carries. To think we are a group of firsts is just an absolute honor to me. I am grateful and blessed for the opportunity that was given to me.”

Cabungcal, who transferred to Ohio State Marion from Ohio Northern after his freshman year, described the feeling of being one of the first graduates in engineering technology as special because of the opportunity to shape the program.

“Being the student representative on the curriculum development advisory committee (CDAC) meetings, I got a small glimpse into what has gone into creating this program,” he said. “I enjoyed being a part of the first group to use the programmable logic controller (PLC) trainers, the gear trainers, and the connected smart manufacturing (CSM) system.”

Partnership pays off as graduates accept first jobs

Cabungcal and his fellow students experience with the CSM system is thanks to an innovative community partnership between The Ohio State University at Marion, Tri-Rivers Career Center and Marion Community Foundation to share the cost and locate a CSM training system within the manufacturing bay of the RAMTEC facility.

Job offers for the newly-minted Ohio State graduates have begun to come in.

Peters has accepted an offer from the Honda Engine Plant in Anna, to be a manufacturing engineer in the engineering development department.

Cabungcal accepted a position as an electro-mechanical engineer at TS Tech USA Corporation.

Hix has job offers from Whirlpool Marion, Honda and Stoneridge.

All four students who have been part of the burgeoning program at The Ohio State University echoed their appreciation for the program being offered exclusively on Ohio State’s smaller regional campuses.

An atmosphere of community feeling

According to Peters, beyond leading him to a rewarding and lucrative career, what he has appreciated most about attending Ohio State Marion is the community feeling.

“The most people I had in a class was maybe 25,” he said. “With my engineering tech classes being 8 to 10 students most of the time.”

“My favorite part about Ohio State Marion is the relationships I have made with my classmates, faculty and staff.," Hix said. "They have all helped me in some way over the past four years to reach this point.”

Many of the first cohort of engineering technology graduates have family ties to Ohio State. Peters' mom and dad, Sarah and John, are OSU grads.

Planning to give back to future engineering technology majors is part of what Peters hopes to do later in life.

“I would love to give a good reputation to Ohio State for their engineering technology program. I see myself giving back and supporting future generations,” he noted.

Hix reiterated that earning a degree from Ohio State carries a lot of weight.

“Ohio State is the best of the best and earning a degree shows the responsibility and countless hours an individual has worked to succeed in earning that degree,” he said.

Being a part of the first graduates in Ohio State’s engineering technology major, the students emphasized the benefits of hands-on learning, the advanced manufacturing equipment and accessible faculty as things they enjoyed on the regional campus. As part of the first cohort of Ohio State engineering technology students to graduate, the students felt they are well prepared and will take something unique into the workforce, paving the way for future students in the major.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Ohio State University at Marion honors four engineering tech grads