Greg Weidman – Manufacturing Co-Op

Hi, my name is Greg Weidman and I am a senior in high school. I am in the Co-Op program and I currently work at Keylink Fencing and Railing. Keylink is located at 260 Jalyn Dr, New Holland, Pa 17557. This company Is an aluminum fence company. We assemble and ship metal fencing and ship to different construction companies and private dealers. Keylink is one of four joint companies, Superior plastics, Cardinal Construction, Superior Shipping, and finally Keylink. My supervisor is Tyler and he monitors the shipping department.

My job duties during the day can include many things. What I do most of the time is shrink wrap pole orders that are ready to ship to customers. If I don’t have any orders I help box parts and posts for other orders. Some orders I have are misc orders which are custom orders customers put in instead of the default orders. Many days I have tons of orders and I’m busy nonstop. Some days I have very little to do, it’s refreshing to have breaks between to recuperate. The work that I do is the perfect amount for the week. I’ve been getting better at wrapping the pole. I can do more in a short amount of time giving me a great and my co-workers a break.

For most of my life, I have been by the ocean, which piqued my interest in boats and boat mechanics. The CO-OP program gave me the opportunity to visit a marine mechanic and shadow at the shop. The visit and the shadow have really opened the door for what I could do in the future, and what schools I could go to to get that job. The co-op program has really opened up opportunities both for what I want to do and what my job at Keylink has done for my job experience.

Co-op has changed my view on my future. As of last year, I had many careers floating around and I could never really grasp any till now. The shadow and working at my job have taught me valuable skills to have in the real world and how to be the best person I could be. I have had lots of opportunities with this program, and these opportunities have really helped me become a better person and a better worker. Co-op has been a great experience through this semester and I highly recommend this to anyone who doesn’t like being in school and just wants to work.