Company Shows Students the Ropes

The students watched carefully as workers in sweatshirts and sneakers made electronic boards. They saw the people in suits make decisions. And they met an affable boss in a polo shirt and cotton pants who told them the story of how he started three companies on his own.

The students are among 60 enrolled in career development classes at Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools, and they were visiting Balboa Instruments this week for an inside look at how electronics are made.

Twenty of them will return to the company, which makes controls for hot tubs, saunas and whirlpools, for internships this spring and will get experience with every department from accounting to assembly.

In seven hands-on sessions, students are to learn what work they would be able to do with a high school diploma and what positions would be available to them as college graduates.

“It really helps,” said Frank Trejo, 16, a sophomore at Costa Mesa High. “They tell you what kind of education you need to go into a field you like. They give you a chance to walk around and see what’s going on.”

Hunter Taylor, 15, a Costa Mesa sophomore, said, “It gives you a perspective on the different things you might want to do.”

The program was launched last fall with help from the company, the schools, Orange Coast College and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce. Members of each organization met regularly and created Partnering Education and Community. They are now encouraging other companies to sign on.

“This is the ideal, where the school and business community work together to focus the students and see what the real world is about,” said Dave Brees, who teaches the Estancia career class.

Managers at Balboa Instruments, which provides scholarships to students at Cal State Fullerton and pays for its employees to go to college, felt the need to expose high school students to the working world so they can make wise choices about the future.

“What we are trying to do is give these guys a sense to stay in high school,” said David Kline, founder and president of the company on Scenic Avenue in Costa Mesa. “They can see the whole process from beginning to end.”