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Brownfields Offer New Horizon In NJIT Training Program

He donned an A-level protective suit last week during a training course at NJIT. Jeffrey Opitz, 19, of Phillipsburg, put on the "moon" suit, the highest quality worn by technicians handling hazardous materials, just to get the feel of it. Opitz described the feeling as a little weird." It was hot. It felt bulky. But it was something I could get used to."

Opitz is among 23 young adults, mostly dropouts, who are trying to get a new start on life, as participants in a program that teaches them how to clean up brownfields.

The don and doff lessons are only a part of the 160-hour training course being taught at NJIT through the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg under a $200,000 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

"NJIT is committed to economic development throughout the State of New Jersey and this is another way of spurring on this development by making use of the talent residing in the state, " said Gale Tenen Spak, associate vice president, distance and continuing professional education.

Opitz, who has a General Education Diploma from Phillipsburg High School, has done mostly automotive jobs in the past few years. But, now he has sights on cleaning up brownfields.

"There’s a future in this thing," he said. "Now I have a chance at a career, not just a job."

Bouncing around from job to job, Stephen Powenski, 20, of Easton, Pa., felt stuck in his $6.50 per hour cooking job at a chain restaurant.

"I worked an entire year without a raise," he said, admitting that his potential earnings are better once he completes the training course. "And, the waitresses are a pain in the butt. I need a job with a decent pay."

Minimum starting salaries: $25,000 a year. Of the 28 participants in the last course, 22 were successfully placed, said John Schaubauch, a consultant to NJIT who is overseeing instruction for the program.

Students get hands-on experience, including wearing protective suits and classroom courses, such as practical math and chemistry. The class is made up of 20 students from Phillipsburg and three from the Middlesex Youth Corps.

Although most of the at-risk students are high school dropouts, they all show a potential for learning new skills, said retired Army Maj. George Paffendorf.

"This is an opportunity that was never, never presented to them," said Paffendorf.

A dropout, Melinda Mason, 19, of Phillipsburg, sees the course as a chance for a career.

"I figure I get my GED and go to college," she said. "I will wait and see what happens."

Antonique Mason, 20, of New Brunswick, who dropped out of school in the ninth grade after she became pregnant, believes she has a chance to earn a good salary to take care of her two children.

"This is a new learning experience," said Mason, adding that the money potential motivated her to participate, but her dream job is to become a nurse.

The course concludes next month.

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