PRCTC’s Southard Gains Career Experience Working With Mobile Makerspace

Pontotoc Ridge Career and Technology Center (PRCTC) launched a Gateway program to provide paid internships — made available through funding from the Three Rivers Planning and Development District — for eligible students in a career field of their choice.

Isabelle Southard has participated in the program working with PRCTC’s mobile makerspace, a grant the Pontotoc County School District received from the CREATE Foundation/Toyota Wellspring. The mobile makerspace helps increase student awareness in the fields of energy, engineering, information technology and health science.

Southard, who has interest in an engineering career, learned about invoices, purchase orders, inventory, paperwork, communication with vendors and other operational aspects of business.

She also worked on engineering cross-curricular lesson plans and proj- ects for students in the district. PRCTC plans to use the mobile makerspace to provide freshmen at North and South

Pontotoc High Schools with access to 3D printers, a laser engraver, CNC routers, robots and other hands-on tools.