Vela advances to national FAME competition

RUSSELLVILLE — Edwin Vela of Russellville will represent Northwest Shoals Community College on the national stage as part of a team competing in the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education program (FAME) competition.

Vela joined teammates Terrell Rickard of Tuscumbia, Jackson Collins of Muscle Shoals and Noah Aday of Florence to win first place in the Manufacturing Core Exercises (MCE) 4 competition during the Alabama FAME Summit.

The MCE 4 category focuses on problem-solving in manufacturing environments.

Through the FAME program, students split their time between classroom instruction at Northwest Shoals and paid, handson work experience at Constellium in Muscle Shoals.

The students are secondyear Industrial Systems Technology students who are set to graduate this month with Associate of Applied Science degrees.

The first-place state finish qualifies the Shoals team for the FAME National Conference scheduled for May 12-14 in Jacksonville, Florida.

“We are incredibly proud of these students and the dedication they have shown to both their studies and their work at Constellium,” said Allison Mefford, NWSCC manager of Workforce Development andApprenticeships.

Constellium Maintenance Training Manager Kim Sizemore said the trip to nationals reflects both the hard work of the students and the partnership between the company and the Shoals FAME chapter.

Vela said the competition challenged students to identify real manufacturing problems and develop practical solutions. His presentation focused on reducing dust and debris entering a motor room connected to a shredder system at the plant.

“We found that dust was getting pulled into the motor through gaps around the shaft,” Vela said.

The team explored ways to better seal the room and reduce the debris reaching the motor.

“One of the ideas was sealing those gaps and possibly using positive pressure to help keep the dust out,” Vela said.

He said the issue could become costly if the motors fail because of contamination or overheating.

“If one of those motors goes down, you’re looking at major downtime,” he said. “There are only two of them, and they’re extremely expensive.”

Vela said participating in the FAME program has given him nearly two years of industry experience before graduation.

“I’ve learned a lot more than I expected to,” he said.

Vela said the hands-on structure of the program has helped prepare him for manufacturing work.

“You get real-world experience while you’re still in school,” he said.

He credited Northwest Shoals instructor Jeff Rogers and coworkers at Constellium for helping prepare students for both the competition and manufacturing careers.

“Jeff Rogers does a really good job making sure we understand why things work, not just how,” Vela said.

He also praised coworker Cole Jackson for emphasizing safety and workplace awareness during his training at the plant.

After graduating in May, Vela plans to continue working at Constellium while pursuing an electrical engineering degree online.

He said representing Russellville and Northwest Shoals at the national level feels meaningful.

“Being from a smaller town and getting to compete at that level is exciting,” Vela said. “It makes you proud to represent where you’re from.”