In a government laboratory in California, there’s a giant chamber where 192 laser beams can be shot into a target — providing key data for scientists.

Maintaining those lasers and using computer software to help position the targets is the job of Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) alumnus Juan Martinez, who graduated in May from the North Carolina college’s laser and photonics technology two-year associate degree program.

“For two years, being able to get a job out in a national lab, or in a lot of other places, is a steal,” he said. “A lot of people have to do a lot more than that to get where I am at.”

Career options

Martinez, who is from Angier, was recently back in Harnett County, North Carolina, to visit family, see old mentors and teachers, and make new connections during a career fair at the Harnett Main Campus, organized by CCCC’s laser and photonics program. The unique program, which has no similar counterpart in the eastern U.S., drew area companies and out-of-state employers to the career fair. CCCC also invited students from local high schools and Campbell University.

Marco Torelli attended to represent Adamas Nanotechnologies, a Raleigh company that makes sensors from diamonds. The company is interested in skill sets the laser and photonics students possess, such as knowledge of optics and electronics.

Russell Fox, a 2005 alumnus, was there to represent John Deere, which has a nearby manufacturing facility in Fuquay-Varina, a new plant in the Triad, and other research and corporate locations in the Triangle. He studied electrical engineering after graduating from the laser and photonic program and now works with John Deere’s battery team. He told student Kamen Moore that John Deere uses lasers in its manufacturing process for batteries for its electrified equipment. Lasers also play a role in the self-driving equipment the company makes.

“I think it’s very valuable, seeing all the different employers you might be able to go for, all the different stuff you can use lasers for, how you can apply all your knowledge in different areas,” Moore said. “It’s just so cool to me.”

Alumni insights

Moore toured the fair with fellow laser and photonics students Nyalise Moure-Hernandez and Edwin Mejia. Out of all the conversations they had at the event, the three said the most exciting was talking to Martinez, the recent graduate, about his job at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which has also hired other graduates from the CCCC program.

“He’s actually in it,” Moore said. “He’s giving us a rundown of what we can really expect.”

This article was originally published in CC Daily.