Manufacturing

Melissa Craig

Electrical Technician

High school: Carroll County High School ('01)

Career & Technical Ed. Program Studied: Electronics Technology I & II

Additional Studies/Training: New River Community College (Instrumentation degree)

Sometimes You Choose a Career When You Choose a Class

At the end of her 10th-grade year at Carroll County High School, Melissa Craig had to pick an elective for her junior year. “We took a tour of all the elective classes,” she recalls, “and electronics looked interesting. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I thought I’d try it; I liked it right away.”

In Electronics I, Melissa says she learned the basics of DC power, and then moved on to AC in the second year with Electronics II.

After graduation, those two classes transferred over to New River Community College as one course…but her studies then took a slight turn. “I started out in electronics,” Melissa explains, “but I ended up getting a degree in instrumentation.”

She was able to put that instrumentation degree to work soon after graduation, as an electrical technician for McKee Foods. In her job, she helps keep the factory’s machinery running smoothly. “I like the whole troubleshooting part of it. Every day is something a little different.”

The knowledge she gained in her high school classes is still an important part of Melissa’s work. “The basics are the main thing…. I still use the formulas I learned [in high school.]”