Roughly 60 GCPS school leaders, mostly high school and middle school principals, as well as a few district administrators, heard from Heraeus employees about their career paths that led them to the company, and how GCPS can better prepare students for careers in manufacturing or engineering.

“Long term, we need to make sure we keep the skills that keep manufacturing here,” Heraeus’ Buford Plant Manager Tim Jenkins said. “We need to, in my mind from a corporate perspective, give back to the community. Even if we personally don’t gain from this, if the community gains, we gain.”