Jonathan Varga
Age:
21
Years at Westminster Tool:
5
Position:
Research and Design Engineering
Education:
H.H. Ellis Technical School; UCONN – M.S. Management and Engineering for Manufacturing – Class of 2023
1. What interested you most in high school? What subjects did you enjoy the most growing up?
Going to a technical high school, manufacturing and my shop classes definitely had most of my attention. I was also really interested in business and technology, both in general and how they impacted manufacturing. Growing up and in middle school I was really into any science classes that I took and I did some robotics classes in middle school, which I found pretty interesting.
2. How did you hear about Westminster Tool? How did you join?
When I was a freshman, my shop instructor at Ellis Tech told me about Westminster Tool and said that I would be a good fit and should look into it. I did some research and was really interested, so I shadowed for a day in the hard mill area. Later that year I met Ray at a school open house and interviewed a few weeks later. I started working the summer after my sophomore year part time and then continued on during the year through my school’s work based learning program and have been here ever since.
3. What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
In the winter I really enjoy skiing, and spend a lot of time on the mountain, and during the summer I enjoy being outside hiking and camping. I also like motorsports and auto-racing, so I spend some time doing that during the summer too.
4. What is something you enjoy about working at WT?
I really enjoy being able to always learn and having the opportunity to try new things and grow. The people here really have become a second family to me and are always willing to help. Also, as a student being able to have a flexible schedule to keep up with college classes but still have time in the shop has played a huge role in allowing me to be successful in school while still learning on the job.
5. What was your first job? What did you learn from it?
My first job was helping my dad on our family farm doing hay. It definitely taught me the value of hard work and how to focus on the task at hand even when it is difficult. I can’t say that it is particularly fun, but I would recommend it to anyone. I think it really puts into perspective work ethic and how your effort affects outcomes.
6. Who inspires you and why?
My mom and dad have probably been the most influential and inspiring people in my life and have really helped to guide me. However, there has been a lot of other people that have helped to lead me to where I am today , and I think across the board they all share the same traits of being hardworking, passionate, and always willing to try their best to improve their own lives and others.
7. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Finishing my degree in engineering is definitely something I am very proud of. There is definitely a stigma within academics towards college students coming from a technical high school, and finishing with a dual degree makes me appreciate how much I’ve learned and the work I’ve put in to finish. Also, working in manufacturing on projects that will eventually be a part of people’s everyday lives gives me a lot of pride in the work that I do.
8. What does your future look like? What are your aspirations for the future?
I want to continue to hone my skills in manufacturing and learn as much as I can about every aspect of the field. Technology and the world as a whole, especially within manufacturing, is changing faster now than ever and I want to take advantage of that to grow as much as possible. I definitely have some ideas for the future, but I could see myself ending up on many different paths within the industry.
