Innovation. Here at ZMac, it’s kind of our passion. But, what do you get when you focus on community and share this passion with a group of really cool 8th-grade students? An amazing learning experience, for both the students and, quite frankly, us at ZMac.

Last month, we were honored to participate in the Career Discovery Solutions Program with the Racine Unified School District. The Career Discovery Solutions Program gives 8th graders the opportunity to step out of the classroom and explore a variety of career paths. Through experiential problem solving with area businesses, students take part in dynamic learning and gain knowledge of real life situations.

We know that our ZMac Team learns best when we are engaged and challenged. And, guess what? Students are no different. So, with that in mind, Sam, our brilliant, high-energy Training and Development Manager worked with an outstanding group of students at Gilmore Middle School over two days to learn what makes our over-dimensional transportation logistics business tick.

After Sam had delivered the big picture of who we are and what we do, the students mastered our lingo, including ‘flatbed,’ ‘step deck,’ and ‘double drop trailer.’ Then the fun really began. Sam gave the students a real-world challenge: A customer is requesting us to move their oversized freight. How do we do this?

Just like our highly-trained sales team, the students attacked the problem with zeal; discovering how to research for real-time information, ask the right questions of the customer, and determine accurate pricing by calculating dimensions, total route miles, and over-dimensional freight truck requirements. After the number-crunching, the students called their customer, presented their pricing, and closed the sale.

These 8th graders were a smart, curious bunch. Just the kind of minds we like at ZMac. Give them a few more years, and, you never know, perhaps they’ll be joining us on our ZMac Team, continuing to hone their skills. Our thanks to the Career Discovery Solutions Program for allowing us to play hooky from the office and go back to school. As many of the 8th graders exclaimed, “It was awesome!”