Matthew Adams was a 10-year-old Cub Scout when his dad, Andy, brought him to their first Scout metalwork merit badge day at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in 2010. The annual event was the brain child of AFS Vice President of Technical Services Brian Began and his former colleague, Richard Williams. The first day-long workshop was held in 2008, staffed by volunteers from the AFS Cleveland-Akron-Canton (CAC) Ohio in cooperation with Kent State. By the time Foseco Sales Engineer Andy Adams volunteered to help and brought his son for a day of hands-on casting and forging experiences, the merit badge workshop had already enjoyed sold-out participation its first two years and was again at full capacity in 2010. 

It proved to be a foundational day in the life of young Matthew. By the age of 12, he was assisting and then teaching various segments of the four-part event. In high school, he attended the summer foundry camp led by AFS Board Member Dr. Sam Ramrattan at Western Michigan University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in material science and engineering from Michigan State University. He entered the foundry industry in 2022 as metallurgist at AFS Corporate Member Quality Castings Co. in Orrville, Ohio, and is now technical director at the age of 25. 

On Saturday, April 26, Matthew Adams and his dad, now retired, returned for yet another merit badge day as counselors for 22 teens, mostly 13- to 15-year-olds––18 boys and 4 girls—who came ready to discover the amazing world of shaping metal. All of the kids received a signed “blue card” at the end of the day, signifying their completion of the badge requirements and eligibility for the merit badge––Began personally recognized and congratulated each teen during a closing ceremony. As of this year, the event has awarded 366 kids since 2008.

Life is Good in Metalcasting

Adams, who is currently working on his Master’s in materials science and engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, is the poster child for the Gen Z generation working in the metalcasting industry and living the dream: He’s been a homeowner since 2023 and got married last fall. At the foundry, he’s involved in new, hands-on responsibilities every day. Currently, he says he’s focused on introducing IoT technology at Quality Castings with a quality monitoring system that will tie into foundry equipment. He said he hopes to install software that will bring data visualization out to the plant floor where operators and supervisors alike can see and understand what’s happening. 

To kids, Adams sends a message about finding something you love to do when it comes to choosing a career path. He said he finds great satisfaction knowing the castings that leave with his stamp of approval are out in the world serving meaningful uses in many different industries. He also loves the hands-on aspects of his job. 

“I’m probably in my office 20% of my time,” he said. “I’m frequently out talking with the guys on the shop floor to see how everything’s going. There are days where, if I’m working with our sand technician and we’re having complications, I’ll come home just covered in green sand. Those days are some of the most fun I have.”

“Kids need to get out there and experience more opportunities––this metalworking merit badge is a great example,” Adams continued. “I found metalcasting and I never feel like I’m going to work. I feel like my company just pays me to go play in a foundry every day.

A Day They’ll Remember

Beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 4:30 p.m., the AFS CAC Ohio Chapter merit badge workshop teaches––both in theory and practice––molding, pouring, heat treating, soldering, forging, and more. Kids were assigned into groups of about six and traveled to different stations with their team throughout the day. They played a round of metalwork Jeopardy to reinforce book learning they had completed in advance and also dispersed to four additional hands-on areas. 

Before launching into their activities, students were given thorough safety instructions by Kent State FEF Key Professor Trent True. Three of the original creators of the event are still active in the production today: Brian Began, Dave Resser, and Annie Karim. Began from AFS moderates the event each year, and he and his wife, Jennifer, take care of registration and paperwork, arrange for a massive pizza lunch, haul in coolers full of soda and water, help set up and tear down the learning and activity stations, as well as a dozen other behind-the-scenes tasks to ensure the Saturday event goes off without a hitch. 

“I am so thankful for the event collaborators including Kent State University, Scouting America, and the numerous counselors who have donated time to making this event so successful, with a special debt of gratitude to the original education committee that frequently met to create this event. We also received generous donations from Foseco, ASK, Tom Cobett & Associates, Professor Mike Dragomier, and Dave Resser during the formative years of the event that were crucial to its success and longevity.”

Began said the experiences create important and sometimes life-changing memories for scouts. 

“One time, we had a scout who particularly enjoyed the heat treating and soldering activities and had extra time, so he asked to start welding his forged bracelet. He told his instructor, Kim Bevington from Elyria Foundry, that he wanted a welding job. Three months later, when the scout graduated from high school, Bevington hired him as a welder.

“There is so much joy in engaging with youth and their families who express genuine interest in metalwork, and specifically, metalcasting,” Began added. “Many parents speak affectionately of their association with the metals industry. And it’s always fun to hear the scout attendees asking questions––especially when they’re trying to decide which of the counselors they’ve learned from have the most desirable jobs!”