It was the 20th Annual Excellence in Education Day.
By Emily Pace
Friday, May 08, 2009 at 5:58 p.m.
Read more: Local, Business, Education, Community, Cliffs, Good Grades, Excellence in Education, Cliffs Natural Resource, Mine Tour, Ishpeming, Negaunee, Republic Michigamme, N.I.C.E
MARQUETTE COUNTY -- Good grades don't always go unnoticed. To prove it, Cliffs Natural Resources gave 185 students from western Marquette County a field trip to remember.
It was the 20th Annual Excellence in Education Day, and students had the opportunity to tour the mines in two different ways.
Students from Ishpeming, Negaunee, N.I.C.E, and Republic-Michigamme who have scored straight As were rewarded.
"Well, I hope they feel recognized, I hope they feel honored, and I hope they feel like their hard work was worth the effort to be apart of this," said Dale Hemmila of Cliffs.
By rail or by foot, students were able to get an inside look of Cliffs Natural Resources' mining operations.
"I think it's a good thing because when you do good in school, you should get rewarded for it," commented Mary Zhulkie of Ishpeming High School.
Dressed for safety, the students on the walking tour were led through the Tilden processing plant and the truck maintenance department.
"I guess to learn about the heritage of the state is kind of nice," said Daniel Carlson of Negaunee High School. "I learned a lot today."
If that wasn't enough to take in, the students also had the chance to see the open-pit operations at Empire.
"The guys at the mine really put forth a lot of effort, and they put in a lot of consideration to making everything safe," said Taylor Debski of Negaunee High School, "and make sure production goes smoothly."
The day concluded with lunch at the Holiday Inn, but more importantly, the students will leave the event with the understanding that hard work, whether it's in the mining industry or not, does have its benefits.
