On April 3, OUC’s Gardenia Innovation & Operations Center opened its doors to 23 Colonial High School juniors and seniors eager to learn about potential career paths at the utility.

The event included visits to the Water Quality Lab, Emerging Technologies and Customer Service call center. Representatives from each area shared what they do on the job as well as the training and education needed for the role and their personal path to working at OUC.

The students visited Gardenia through a partnership between OUC and CareerSource Central Florida, an organization dedicated to providing professional and skills development to job seekers and then matching them to local employers.

CareerSource seeks to show high school students career opportunities in a variety of in-demand industries. In addition to OUC, the program includes visits to Disney, Lockheed Martin, Orange County government and other major companies and organizations.

“Our goal is to expose our participants to a variety of careers and jobs at OUC to help them make informed decisions about their future job or career” said Aditta Riha, Program Manager with CareerSource Central Florida. “It’s one thing to read a job description and surf the internet but another to see, smell, breathe, hear and touch a work environment in person to help bring it to life and help make decisions.”

In the Water Quality Lab, Jaritza Pluguez, Lab Supervisor, Christine Misner, Senior Chemist, John Burgos, Chemist, Satish Sinha, Chemist, and Jeffery Stickel, Chemist, educated students about the Lower Floridan Aquifer, the source of our community’s drinking water, and how that water is treated with ozone and chlorine at OUC water plants.

A key part of the visit showcased different techniques and technology the lab uses to test the water for contaminants. The students also learned about many different roles in water production needed to keep the water flowing, including chemists, engineers, mechanics and more.

John Burgos, Chemist, shows students how OUC’s water quality lab checks for appropriate chlorine levels in the water distribution system.

In the Emerging Technologies department, Rubin York, Project Research Engineer, demonstrated how OUC uses a 3D printer to create custom parts. He explained that the time to design, test and modify parts as needed is a fraction of what it would take with traditional manufacturing, making it indispensable to their projects and tests. Each student took home a colorful 3D-printed “fidget clicker” with the OUC logo.

“This was a good opportunity for these students to see career opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise considered,” said York.

In the call center, Brad Matzinger, Customer Service Manager, and Corey McCollum, Residential Team Supervisor, highlighted the critical role customer service plays in making OUC the Reliable One, as well as the importance of empathy and interpersonal skills when dealing with those facing unexpected high bills or other issues.

“It’s a tough but rewarding job,” Matzinger told the students, who added that an entry-level position in the call center has been a springboard for many OUC employees to career advancement in other departments.

Brad Matzinger, Customer Service Manager, explains how OUC customer issues are handled by the representatives in his department.

One of the highlights of the tour was a demonstration of a fire hydrant, which was fully opened, spraying water at 60 PSI across Gardenia’s fleet parking lot and outdoor storage area.

With a fire hydrant spraying water at 60 PSI high into the air in the background, Corey Johnson, Water Operations Manager, explains how OUC crews respond to emergency situations such as water main breaks.

“I was very pleased with this event. These students were highly inquisitive and intellectually curious,” said Alandus Sims, Community Partnerships and Projects Manager, who was instrumental in bringing the program to OUC.