Joel Martin – Manufacturing Co-Op

Hello, my name is Joel, I am enrolled in the co-op program at Garden Spot high school. I am working the co-op program at New Holland Church Furniture in New Holland, Pennsylvania. New Holland Church Furniture is a company built up with workers who work hard to build custom furniture as requested by the customer. I joined this program because I saw the opportunity to work during the day instead of having classes in school. It is a great opportunity to earn money while gaining more experience at the job I plan on working full time at after I graduate.

I go to New Holland Church Furniture 5 days a week for a little over 3 hours a day, so a total of around 16 hours a week. When I get to work my manager Brian has a job ready to go for me. I work in the loading docks so while I am at work, I do anything from loading a truck with furniture to finishing the assembly of furniture. I can work on assembling kneelers, screwing back and seat pads on chairs, or drilling the bases on ends. When loading a truck, the furniture comes in many different shapes sizes and weights. The main thing you want to be sure about when loading is that whatever your loading is protected from scratches with blankets and strapped down tight with ratchet straps and pads.

While working at New Holland I gained a lot of experience not only from working with my coworkers but learning how to build/assemble church furniture. While Working in the loading docks I had the opportunity for a little bit of traveling. While working more hours over the summer I was able to go on some deliveries, some farther away in Virginia and some closer in Pennsylvania. Deliveries consist of a lot of driving and a few hours of unloading the truck we arrive. I gained a lot of experience from deliveries by being able to talk to the pasters at the churches we deliver furniture at and by riding with experienced truck drivers in a box truck.

I would highly suggest working in the co-op program to anyone who plans on going straight into the workforce out of high school. New Holland Church Furniture was a perfect opportunity for me because it’s local to the school, and it’s a great company that has great workers that are good people and work hard. I love having the ability to make money during the school day while also being able to finish the last few credits I need. I am looking forward to being able to work all day without the need to come into the school second semester. This program allows me to play baseball in the spring while also allowing me to work all day.