20 | Saturday, October 18, 2025 Elk River Star News
From shop class to skilled trade: Zimmerman grad finds his fit in manufacturing
BY JIM BOYLE Editor
Mason Keskey of Zimmerman will graduate in December from Anoka Technical College’ s CNC Manufacturing Technology program— with opportunities at three different places.
He’ s currently working at Pezo Solutions in Monticello, a manufacturing job he enjoys, alongside people he likes, and earning a paycheck he appreciates as well. He’ s also gained experience at another Monticello employer, where he learned the basics of his chosen trade, and expressed a willingness to return there someday if the right full-time offer presented itself.
What’ s more, he’ s confident about his future in a trade with plenty of good, well-paying machining jobs across the region and state.“ I feel secure with my position in the industry,” he said.“ There are a lot of opportunities in Central Minnesota for this type of work.”
Keskey, a 2024 Zimmerman High School graduate, has been on the fast track to complete his college schooling ever since he began taking classes through the state’ s Post-Secondary Enrollment Options( PSEO) program his senior year of high school. By the time he started, he had already interviewed for an internship with UMC and began working there about two weeks into the school year.
Amy Lord, the career and technical education coordinator for the Elk River Area School District, described Keskey as“ soft-spoken yet driven” during a panel discussion in October 2023, part of that fall’ s Manufacturing Month events. Lord has worked with dozens of employers through the Youth Skills Training Program, which Keskey accessed as a District 728 student. That fall, he tackled three online classes at Zimmerman High School,
PHOTO BY JIM BOYLE
Mason Keskey of Zimmerman will graduate in December from Anoka Technical College’ s CNC Manufacturing Technology program, positioning himself well for future opportunities. He interned at one job he may return to and works at another machine shop in Monticello. His diverse experiences make him a strong candidate for many positions across Central Minnesota and beyond.
attended night school at Anoka Tech, and worked 20 hours a week at UMC alongside other interns.
Asked what drove him, Keskey said he wasn’ t exactly sure— other than a strong desire to learn.“ With PSEO, I could learn and get it paid for at the same time,” he said.“ So I was able to save quite a bit of money. It was a busy schedule for the year, but I’ m glad I did it because it gave me a chance to earn quite a bit of money and save at least $ 5,000 on schooling.”
When he is not attending school or working, Keskey enjoys playing hockey with friends on rented ice at the Furniture and Things Community Event Center. Keskey’ s advice to high school students interested in shop classes and working with their hands is to take advantage of opportunities while they have them.“ Once you’ re out of high school, you have to pay for them,” he said.
“ Schooling’ s not exactly cheap.”
He mentioned that the beauty of his internship at UMC was its flexibility and the valuable experience it provided. The only drawback was the slower pace of learning, since the company worked with multiple students at once.
Around Easter 2025, Keskey met someone who owned a machining business in Monticello. When the topic of Keskey’ s internship came up, the owner’ s ears perked up, and the conversation ended with an invitation to come check the place out. He did— and found it to his liking. He can see himself staying there after graduation from Anoka Tech but knows that won’ t be his only option going forward.
He believes he demonstrated his abilities at UMC and could return there someday. And if he ever decided to move to another community, he said, there are plenty of machine shops to consider.“ It wasn’ t a bad experience at UMC,” he said.“ It just wasn’ t the right fit for me, as it required a lot of patience in terms of the pace of learning. Obviously, they can’ t focus on one person at a time, but it’ s a good company with good benefits. It just wasn’ t me. I wanted to accelerate my learning.”
Keskey is now in his fourth and final semester at Anoka Tech, taking 16 credits. He credits his time there with helping him land his current job.
“ It definitely helped me get it indirectly,” he said.“ I like the culture at Pezo Solutions. There are good people there, and it’ s a small but growing business. I’ m hoping to grow with them.”
He turns parts designed by an engineer and produced first with 3-D printers into prototypes for fit and form before creating products out of durable materials designed to stand the test of time.
Mason Keskey completes projects on various machines, including several new ones acquired through partnerships with the Anoka Tech Foundation, industry partners, individual donors, Anoka County, and matching funds from Minnesota State’ s Legislative Leveraged Equipment Program.