Chemical makers contribute to school bio-tech program

NITRO,W.Va. — Two of the Kanawha Valley’s leading chemical employers made a sizable donation to Nitro High School on Thursday. The $10,000 contribution from Dow Chemical and Bayer Crop Science will be used to transform a former home economics lab into a bio-technology lab.

“The money will be used to renovate that room and take out the old kitchenette and buying lab stations and other lab devices,” said Principal Jason Redman. “Students can get first hand knowledge of what’s really in a bio-tech lab.”

Nitro has the state’s first bio tech training program.  The four-year program prepares students for a lab based career in an industry where there is growing demand for employees.

“It’s an investment in our future, but also an investment in the future of America,” said Jim Covington, Vice-President and Site Leader for Bayer Crop Science in Institute. “We have maintained our standard of living by having a technological edge.  To maintain that standard of living and technological edge, we need to get the next generation of scientists and engineers ready.”

“This is our second year of it and we currently have 65 students in the program,” Redman said. “In two years when our first group graduates they will be able to go get a good job in a bio-tech lab and be proficient in the skills needed.”

Furthermore the lab will be a solid base to prepare students for pursuit of a lab based career according to the Bayer executive..

“Bio tech is a very important industry for Bayer. We also make pharmaceuticals,” Covington explained. “We wanted to support that in the community and have students ready to leave high school and go into a technology field as a technician or go on to a four-year school and graduate as a biologist, biochemist, or chemical engineer and come to work for us in a few years.”

The starting salary for a bio chemical engineer at Bayer is about $60,000 and technicians start at  $45,000.  Students in the Nitro program will not only get the experience of real world lab training, but during their senior year will shadow lab workers on the job.

Bayer and Dow are consulting with the teacher of the program Jane Harrison about not only what students need to know, but also about what they project their future employment needs will be industry wide.





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