By: Kassidy White, Induron Chemist, and Davies Hood, Induron President
Founded in 2015 with the goal of providing quality education in a Christian environment, Banks Academy is an accredited Private Christian High School in the East Lake area of Birmingham, Alabama.
The Story of Banks Academy
By: Davies Hood, Induron President
An old friend and business associate, Bill Hart asked me to meet him for a cup of coffee this summer to discuss Banks Academy, a new inner-city private Christian school. Like many other start-up private schools, Banks Academy needed support and funding. But, unlike other local schools with a similar need, Banks Academy had a different story to tell.
Banks Academy is not only providing students with a Christian education, but it is also focusing on teaching life skills, such as personal finance and hand-on learning from a work-study program with local businesses.
Plus, the ole Banks High School story is interesting. Growing up in Birmingham in the 1970s and 1980s, I remember Banks High School as one of the predominant local schools boasting one of the best football programs in a city – also known as “The Football Capital of the South.” Banks Academy has made a great effort to reach out to local alumni and is working to continue the successful sports legacy, especially football of Banks High albeit on a much smaller platform.
While it differs from some of the other local private high schools, Banks Academy does have a football team and aims to add a trade school in the future. All of these attributes added up to create something that I wanted to support!
Induron is proud to have supported Banks Academy by helping to provide Chrome-Books for the students to continue to learn during the ongoing global pandemic. I also thought that basic computer skills would help these students succeed in life regardless of the pandemic.
Another way to help was to simply tell my story and the story of Induron, a third-generation family-owned manufacturing company. I was honored to share our story, but I thought it would be even more beneficial for the students to hear a first-hand experience from one of Induron’s team members who is closer in age to them. I invited our newest chemist, Kassidy White to help me share the Induron story.
Visiting Banks Academy
By: Kassidy White, Induron Chemist
I recently had the opportunity to visit Banks Academy with Induron’s president Davies Hood, to tell the students who Induron is and what we do as a company.
First, Davies shared his background, the history of Induron, and an overview of Induron’s product line and departments. When it was my turn to speak to the high school sophomores, I shared a brief explanation of my working history during college, information about my degree in Professional Chemistry, and my experience as a Chemist at Induron. I was asked many questions, ranging from “what’s a typical day like at work for you?” to “what made you decide to go into chemistry?”
It was difficult to give an answer for a ‘typical’ day because every day as a Chemist is different. However, I offered a few examples including making a batch of paint in the laboratory and researching and taking notes in my office for my next project.
As for what made me go into Chemistry, I’ve always been fascinated with the fact that everything in the world is intertwined with Chemistry in some way. Being in this field allows me to learn about the chemical aspects of so many different things. Induron is allowing me to learn about the chemistry of industrial coatings. It was very encouraging to see teenagers engaging with both Davies and myself during the presentation.
After the presentation, I was left feeling inspired not only for the sophomores in the room, but aso for myself. I believe one of the key aspects of success is hard work. Engaging with these intelligent teenagers that are striving for the best and working their hardest in school despite the extremes that 2020 has brought was so encouraging to me.
While I have been lucky to continue working as normal during the pandemic, I’ve had many moments where I imagined still being in school and the potential difficulties I would face. To see these teenagers continue to work hard and stay motivated, while also asking about the details of careers at Induron, truly made the entire experience for me. I hope our presentation had the same positive influence on the students.