John Collins

At Unilock we make Pavers or you can call them stones, it’s in the concrete/cement industry. I run the wet side machine press. I work 60-72 hours a week on 12 hour shifts. I am the lead operator on my night shift.

Burgess & Norton in Geneva is the world’s largest producer of piston pins for car engines. I started as an operator and then became jr technician. I was in charge of 4 large 40 foot long furnaces and about 5 operators. I learned the cycles and how to troubleshoot alarms. I maintained the temperatures and the gas levels while running. I would cut open parts and conduct hardness tests to ensures the line were in spec.

Just your basic golf course grounds job. I would cut grass, setup tees for players, replace divots and so on. I worked here as a second job to make enough money to afford a house.

This was my first job, I started out in the golf course industry, once again in the grounds crew. I worked summers and some weekend's in high school and then the full season after graduation.