Wakefield, MA — Superintendent David DiBarri is pleased to share that Northeast Metro Tech students in several pathways were gifted gear from BRUNT Workwear, a North Reading company, in exchange for earning points during their studies.
Representatives of BRUNT Workwear, as well as Founder and CEO Eric Girouard, visited Northeast Metro Tech in October and again in December to deliver workwear to students. Company officials are expected back again this spring.
Founder and CEO Eric Girouard grew up in a working-class family, and started the e-commerce company three years ago after more than a decade in leadership positions at several businesses. Girouard collaborated with friends from his Connecticut hometown to design six styles of boots and several types of apparel that meet the needs of workers in specific trades.
The relationship between Northeast Metro Tech and BRUNT Workwear began after Northeast Metro Tech Dean Joe Papagni became aware of BRUNT CEO Eric Girouard’s commitment to vocational school students.
Dean Papagni reached out to the company, and he and Brian Peluso, a Design & Visual Communications Instructor at Northeast, designed a reward system to have Northeast students earn their boots. Students needed to meet expectations in four areas: safety, vocational achievement, citizenship, and academic achievement. Once students earned 25 points in each area they were able to exchange points for BRUNT Workwear during several visits made to the school by company officials.
So far, over 200 students have received BRUNT gear, and the school is expecting the delivery of another 150 pairs of boots this spring.
“At BRUNT we always look to support the hardworking men and women in the trades in any way we can, and we especially enjoy supporting the future generation,” said BRUNT’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Eric Girouard. “We decided to partner with Northeast Metro Tech because we saw the level of effort and dedication the faculty and staff put into preparing these students for successful careers in the trades and knew that that was something we wanted to be a part of. Too often a career in the trades doesn’t get the attention it deserves, even though the opportunity for a highly successful career in the trades is bigger than it’s ever been. We wanted to support a school that encourages and champions those career opportunities. The Tool Token program that the school has put together has blown us away, and the students’ hard work in the program and appreciation for the BRUNT products they received has been unbelievable. We look forward to continuing to support Northeast Metro Tech for years to come. This is just the start.”
“Dean Papagni wanted our students to feel pride in their hard work when they were given the boots, so our team came up with an innovative points system to motivate students to work hard,” said Superintendent DiBarri. “Meanwhile, Dean Papagni also worked with our Guidance Department to ensure that any student in need of assistance could also receive boots.”
Design and Visual Arts Instructor Brian Peluso also contributed by designing a card system for students to keep track of their points, and he also helped students create thank you cards.
To learn more about BRUNT Workwear, visit: https://bruntworkwear.com/.
