{"427001":{"#nid":"427001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Returning to school expands one man\u0027s manufacturing career options","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMaking a professional change isn\u2019t always easy. But Randell Harper shows how stepping out of what he calls his comfort zone and into a different career \u2014 one in manufacturing \u2014 has created new opportunities both for him and his family.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHarper is a production manager at JAC Products in Franklin, Ga. The plant produces roof racks and auto body trim. His journey into manufacturing is one about the willingness to make and accept change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cManufacturing challenges your mind and gives you the opportunity to learn amazing things,\u201d he says. \u201cManufacturing also showed me new ways in which I could grow. Everything my team and bosses have been willing to teach me, I have been willing to learn, which tells me that my opportunities are limitless.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHarper is the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership\u2019s (GaMEP) July Face of Manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe sector remains an integral part of Georgia\u2019s economy. In fact, manufacturing employs more than 365,000 statewide, and the Faces of Manufacturing initiative is designed to demonstrate how Harper and other dedicated individuals in manufacturing not only keep their companies strong economically but also help their communities to thrive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile manufacturing was a constant in his life \u2014 his mother worked as a weaver in a LaGrange, Ga.-based cotton mill \u2014 Harper\u2019s career path led him to work with his brother and a cousin to hang wallpaper. Within three years of doing that work, Harper launched his own wallpapering and painting company with a staff of eight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe was already married with a young family, and during the slow months for the business, he took on additional jobs and worked the weekend shift at the cotton mill where his mother worked.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt allowed him to see how much the industry changed and the opportunities manufacturing offered, he says. And as he made the switch in manufacturing full time and out of the wallpapering business, he also realized the skills he developed in running his own company were transferable to a new job working for an aluminum extrusion firm in Newnan, Ga.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose skills and professional commitment led him to obtain a number of promotions, but then he hit a ceiling: Without a college degree, he couldn\u2019t move up into a role he wanted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe human resources manager at that company continually encouraged him to go back to school to obtain his degree, but he kept making excuses for why he couldn\u2019t.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI just kept putting college off. I wasn\u2019t ready to go back and didn\u2019t believe I had the time,\u201d he said. But that didn\u2019t match his personal philosophy: \u201cI am in charge of my future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo he enrolled at West Georgia Technical College, where he earned his associate\u2019s degree. He is now studying for his bachelor\u2019s degree. Taking charge of his future not only meant going back to school but also taking on a new opportunity, one that led him to his current position at JAC Products.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd his philosophy has made a profound difference in his family. Two of his daughters enrolled at West Georgia Technical College, and he encouraged his wife to go back to school to finish her degree.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhether you\u2019re coming right out of high school or looking for a career change, manufacturing is a great environment and can provide you with a great career \u2013 not just a way to live paycheck to paycheck,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t think I would have what I have today if it wasn\u2019t for my decision to go into manufacturing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2014 By P\u00e9ralte C. Paul\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From changing careers to going back to school in his 30s, Randell Harper\u0027s ambition continuously drives him to step out of his comfort zone."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2015-07-21 15:04:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:12","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"427011":{"id":"427011","type":"image","title":"Randell Harper","body":null,"created":"1449254342","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:39:02","changed":"1475895165","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:45","alt":"Randell Harper","file":{"fid":"202785","name":"custom_thumbnail_randell_harper.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/custom_thumbnail_randell_harper_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/custom_thumbnail_randell_harper_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":107817,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/custom_thumbnail_randell_harper_0.jpg?itok=D9SGV_tQ"}}},"media_ids":["427011"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"121581","name":"Faces of Manufacturing"},{"id":"16331","name":"GaMEP"},{"id":"136201","name":"Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership"},{"id":"136191","name":"Randell Harper"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor media inquiries contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information about GaMEP contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKatie Takacs\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGaMEP Marketing Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:katie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekatie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}