Junior Achievement Opens Doors to Success for Team Member
Megan Mulholland | Waupaca FoundryFor nearly a decade, Waupaca Foundry has supported Junior Achievement of West Kentucky not as a recruitment pipeline but as a commitment to enriching the community. Yet for Isaac Ahl, a Junior Achievement (JA) participant from Tell City High School, this investment also became a personal opportunity. A melt maintenance team member at Plant 5 in Tell City, Ahl is the first JA participant hired by Waupaca Foundry, since it began its involvement in the youth program in 2017. It highlights how JA’s influence can help shape careers in unexpected ways.
JA is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.
Photo credit: Nick Montgomery (left) extends a job offer to Issac Ahl in the melt maintenance department at Wauapca Foundry. Ahl (middle) pictured with Stephen Hardesty (right) at Owensboro Community and Technical College's GOING PRO Signing Day on April 23, 2024. Photo courtesy of Owensboro Community and Technical College.
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JA is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.
Photo credit: Nick Montgomery (left) extends a job offer to Issac Ahl in the melt maintenance department at Wauapca Foundry. Ahl (middle) pictured with Stephen Hardesty (right) at Owensboro Community and Technical College's GOING PRO Signing Day on April 23, 2024. Photo courtesy of Owensboro Community and Technical College.
In 2022, Ahl’s senior year, he participated in JA’s Career Success, which consists of seven sessions that cover creativity, communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, determining priorities and goal setting, interview and resume prep, and social media impacts in the workplace.
Gary Greubel, Waupaca Foundry's human resources manager and a dedicated JA volunteer and program mentor, said, “I see my role as an investment in the future. " Greubel serves as Board President for JA’s Perry and Hancock counties in the 26-county West Kentucky region. “If I can get kids interested in a career in manufacturing, it’s good for the Foundry and good for the economic health of the community.”
His goal is simple yet impactful: help young people grasp what’s possible and connect what they learn in school to real-life applications. “If I can get a young person to take away only one or two concepts that will help them take a better path in life, I’ve succeeded.”
Ahl talked with Greubel, counselors and his dad Steve (who has worked for more than 20 years in the melt department at the gray and ductile iron Foundry) about what he wanted to do for a career, how much money he would need to be happy, his work schedule, and what he values.
A career he enjoys that enables him to stay near family is worth more than any paycheck. “Gary had a punch-out card to show what you value the most. I had money at the very top. He looked over my shoulder and asked, ‘Are you sure that is the most important thing?’ That made me think. I realized money isn’t everything. It’s about what you value. For me, that’s family.”
In 2022, Ahl started his postgraduate education at Owensboro Community College in its GO FAME Program, which allowed him to intern at Waupaca Foundry while earning an Advanced Manufacturing Technician Associate in Applied Science Degree. “The work, earn, and learn model made a huge difference,” Ahl said. “I had two days of classes and worked the rest. It was hands-on.”
GO FAME is an apprenticeship-style training program that allows students to earn an industry-recognized, multi-craft technician degree while gaining valuable experience working in a manufacturing environment.
The experience included fabricating shop tools to managing hydraulic systems. Ahl graduated in May 2024, and he started working full-time in the melt maintenance department, a role that combines his technical skills with a strong foundation in mechanical repair.
Ahl credits JA with teaching him financial literacy and work-readiness skills. “They taught me how to get the best ROI on post-graduate education,” he said. “I didn’t want to be in debt. I had scholarships that helped pay tuition. I don’t owe a dime.” Now, at 21, he has invested in his future by purchasing a 10-acre plot where he plans to build his home.
Greubel’s efforts are paving the way for students like Ahl to succeed in manufacturing and beyond. “If I can give young people the best possible opportunities and introduce them to the perspective of manufacturing, it’s a win,” he said. “And if they choose Waupaca Foundry, that’s even better.”
Since 2017, Waupaca Foundry has also invested more than $40,000 in Junior Achievement of West Kentucky.
Gary Greubel, Waupaca Foundry's human resources manager and a dedicated JA volunteer and program mentor, said, “I see my role as an investment in the future. " Greubel serves as Board President for JA’s Perry and Hancock counties in the 26-county West Kentucky region. “If I can get kids interested in a career in manufacturing, it’s good for the Foundry and good for the economic health of the community.”
His goal is simple yet impactful: help young people grasp what’s possible and connect what they learn in school to real-life applications. “If I can get a young person to take away only one or two concepts that will help them take a better path in life, I’ve succeeded.”
Ahl talked with Greubel, counselors and his dad Steve (who has worked for more than 20 years in the melt department at the gray and ductile iron Foundry) about what he wanted to do for a career, how much money he would need to be happy, his work schedule, and what he values.
A career he enjoys that enables him to stay near family is worth more than any paycheck. “Gary had a punch-out card to show what you value the most. I had money at the very top. He looked over my shoulder and asked, ‘Are you sure that is the most important thing?’ That made me think. I realized money isn’t everything. It’s about what you value. For me, that’s family.”
In 2022, Ahl started his postgraduate education at Owensboro Community College in its GO FAME Program, which allowed him to intern at Waupaca Foundry while earning an Advanced Manufacturing Technician Associate in Applied Science Degree. “The work, earn, and learn model made a huge difference,” Ahl said. “I had two days of classes and worked the rest. It was hands-on.”
GO FAME is an apprenticeship-style training program that allows students to earn an industry-recognized, multi-craft technician degree while gaining valuable experience working in a manufacturing environment.
The experience included fabricating shop tools to managing hydraulic systems. Ahl graduated in May 2024, and he started working full-time in the melt maintenance department, a role that combines his technical skills with a strong foundation in mechanical repair.
Ahl credits JA with teaching him financial literacy and work-readiness skills. “They taught me how to get the best ROI on post-graduate education,” he said. “I didn’t want to be in debt. I had scholarships that helped pay tuition. I don’t owe a dime.” Now, at 21, he has invested in his future by purchasing a 10-acre plot where he plans to build his home.
Greubel’s efforts are paving the way for students like Ahl to succeed in manufacturing and beyond. “If I can give young people the best possible opportunities and introduce them to the perspective of manufacturing, it’s a win,” he said. “And if they choose Waupaca Foundry, that’s even better.”
Since 2017, Waupaca Foundry has also invested more than $40,000 in Junior Achievement of West Kentucky.
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