Mercedes-Benz ‘learn-and-earn’ program growing

HAMILTON - “I’m determined to figure it out, no matter how long I have to work on it.”
Those are the words from Jonathan Harkness, a 2019 Winfield City High School graduate, who is currently one of Bevill State Community College-Hamilton Campus’ first two students to participate in the college’s Mercedes-Benz Tech Co-Op program.
Harkness and Tyler Hawkins, a 2018 Hackleburg High School graduate, both recently returned from a three-month stay in Tuscaloosa County, where they worked a paid internship at the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant in Vance, where they helped produce the GLE and GLS SUV models.
Both students made $16 an hour plus overtime while working on the plant’s vehicle assembly line, as well as being given a $400 housing allowance.