INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — 4-H student leaders were invited to learn more about the operations at the Naval Support Activity Crane as part of a Purdue University 4-H Ambassadors program on Tuesday.
According to Crane officials, representatives of the NSA Crane, Crane Army Ammunition Activity, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division went to the state capital to present information to more than 50 high school seniors from across the state.
Students learned about topics like robotics, ammunition handling, microcircuit design, and demilitarization processes.
“These STEM or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields make up a large number of the positions on the installation that these 4-H Students could one day apply for in the future once they’ve completed their schools and training,” Bruce Drake, NSA Crane Public Affairs Officer, said. “We wanted to help remind them that they could have a very rewarding career in STEM-related careers right here in the state of Indiana and on NSA Crane itself. I’ve already gotten a couple of requests for groups to come down and tour our installation and several of the partnered commands at a later date and I’m looking forward to helping them with the outreach.”
Officials also explained some of the ins and outs of how an installation as large as the one in Crane is run. The installation is the U.S. Navy’s 3rd largest land base at 62,000 acres and with more than 6,500 personnel involved.
“I was amazed at the sheer number of STEM-related professions that are available on NSA Crane,” Dr. Dani W. Lay, Purdue University’s 4-H Day at the Statehouse Integration Facilitator for the university’s 4-H Youth Development efforts in STEM, said. “Team Crane’s approach to allow the students to talk directly to several of the engineers on their current projects really was very informative for them and me.”
