Savannah Mantanona, of Basic High School, right, signs paperwork during a ceremony for high school graduates who were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
New Tesla hires, who recently graduated high school, pose for a photo after a signing ceremony held at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Attendees cheer during a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Centennial graduates DeRajanique McKinney, center left, and Jayquan Jackson, right, react during a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Savannah Mantanona, of Basic High School, right, looks on atter signing paperwork during a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Savannah Mantanona, of Basic High School, right, signs paperwork during a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Rene Cantu, executive director of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, speaks during a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Tesla hats sit on a table at the start of a signing ceremony for recent high school graduates that were hired by Tesla as part of the Manufacturing Development Program at UNLV in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The program is coordinated with the help of Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, or JAG Nevada. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
In the span of just one day, Savannah Mantanona graduated from her Henderson high school and sealed her future employment with a major company.
Mantanona, from Basic Academy, did a little dance on stage as the ceremony drew to a close.
She was never particularly interested in manufacturing, she said, noting that she originally wanted to be an English teacher. But when she found out about the program through Jobs for America’s Graduates, she signed up.
“With this program, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I don’t try,’” she said.
The employment offers are part of Tesla’s manufacturing and development program, which is signing roughly 50 recent graduates across the state this year in its third batch of recruiting for its factory in Sparks.
Students work for $17 an hour on the assembly line or doing other work while also earning 20 credits in a manufacturing and robotics course that may count toward an associate’s degree at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno.
On Tuesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced science, technology, engineering and math fellowships for four teachers and one student as part of that investment. The fellows will help develop curriculum for new K-12 state standards on automation technology.
The investment also includes the Robotics Academy of Nevada, which offers free five-day summer training sessions for teachers.
