Please welcome our newest Manufacturing Academy instructor, Stephen Matczak! In 2010, Stephen completed his machining degree at Perry Technical Institute in Yakima, Washington and in 2013 became one of the AJAC instructors for the Machining Apprenticeship at Yakima Valley College.
As the Maintenance Manager for JELD-WEN (Yakima) he found his passion for Industrial Maintenance and blended his love of teaching with his job and cross trained his team in machining and electronics troubleshooting.
Stephen currently instructs AJAC’s new Manufacturing Academy pre-apprenticeship program in Yakima. This new 11-week program will help job seekers in Yakima County develop skills and certifications for the region’s industrial maintenance and food processing industries.
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
My parents divorced when I was 8 and my father moved back to Philadelphia. We would spend the summers there visiting family and going to a lot of Phillies games. My dad passed away in 2017 and he is certainly the reason I became a machinist however, I never had to opportunity to learn from him what he knew about machining. I would chose my father, Joe Matczak, as my mentor.
What is your favorite part about working in the non-profit industry?
What excites me most about being part of this organization is the ability to pass on the knowledge I have gained in the fields of electronics, maintenance and machining.
What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod/iTunes/Spotify?
I listen to three types of music: Bluegrass, Reggae and Punk. My go to song is The Exploited – Punk’s Not Dead.
What’s one thing about you that would surprise me?
I am a cake decorator. From birthdays to weddings and everything in between. I love baking too.
What was your dream job growing up?
I wanted to be an architect.
