During the weeks of June 3-7 and June 10-14, six students from Wagner along with ten other students from the surrounding area gave up two weeks of their summer to attend YMA.

YMA is the Yankton Manufacturing Academy hosted at the Regional Technical Education Center, Inc. (RTEC) in Yankton. During this two-week course students learned how to weld, understand the process of becoming a certified welder, operate CAD and 3-D printing, build leadership and teamwork skills, and tour various manufacturing businesses in Yankton and Vermillion.

The Yankton Department of Labor hosted leadership and team building classes. Aaron Chrisman from the National Guard taught leadership classes and the instructors worked closely with the students to teach the processes of welding, how to develop a business plan, present the product to a panel of investors, and how to manage a small business. The students were divided up into two groups where a manager was selected, jobs filled, a product designed, built and manufactured.

At the conclusion of YMA, students presented their products in a mock panel in hope of getting investors.