When Emily Bolton graduated from high school, she realized pretty quickly that working in retail wasn’t going to pay the bills or be fulfilling long-term. The answer to this realization, as it turned out, was a career in manufacturing, which, not only pays well, but also gives her the resources to learn on the job and the flexible hours to continue her education.

Emily started with part-time work through a temp agency and within a couple of months was hired full-time at Greenheck, a leading manufacturer of air movement, control and conditioning equipment with Cleveland County operations in Kings Mountain and Shelby. Today, she works first shift as an assembly worker and takes classes in the evenings toward her Associate’s Degree in Business Administration at Cleveland Community College.

As a young woman with no prior experience in manufacturing, Emily had a lot to learn in her first several weeks of work. “I had zero experience with power tools,” she said. “The first two weeks was all hands-on training—learning proper safety and technique. It was intimidating at first, but now I know what I’m doing and I really like it.”

Emily was a fast learner and is now an integral part of the assembly team. Despite the eight-hour days, she has still been able to balance time for school. “[Greenheck] is really on board with me continuing my education,” she said. “They really encourage us in general to continue to learn.”

Born and raised in Shelby, North Carolina, Emily enjoys Cleveland County’s small-town character, coupled with its proximity to major metros like Charlotte. “I love the environment,” she said. “It’s small-town without feeling too small. You run into people you know around town, but you don’t have to travel far to get to places like Charlotte, Spartanburg and Asheville. Any direction you go, you’ll find things to do.”