Eighth-grade students "Discover Engineering" at Hannah Beardsley
On Jan. 5-6, professional engineers from eight major corporations, students from Crystal Lake district 47 and 155, and representatives from McHenry County College came together at Hannah Beardsley Middle School to educate and excite eighth-grade students about careers in engineering.
"Discover Engineering" was a weeklong event spearheaded five years ago by Mary Warren, eighth-grade science teacher at Hannah Beardsley, who saw a need to increase student awareness about the growing career field known as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The special week was modeled after Northrop Grumman's "Discover-E," a program designed to promote engineering careers by partnering employed engineers with classroom teachers to present design process activities to students.
"The idea behind this event was to introduce the diverse fields of engineering to our eighth-grade students prior to high school registration," said Warren. Most students, she said, follow the careers of their parents because it's all they have seen. "Our society needs more engineers and students who like math and science and who like solving problems."
According to Warren, this year's event was the best so far. On the first day, she said, seniors from area high schools (including some former District 47 students) who have been part of Project Lead the Way talked to the eighth-graders about their decision to pursue engineering through the program and about the transition to high school. Later that same day, several first-year engineers just out of college were brought in to speak with the high school students about the transition to college and the job market for engineers.
Representatives from McHenry County College also presented to students, introducing the college's undergraduate STEM offerings as affordable, viable programs that make a terrific launchpad for a STEM career.
Warren noted, "This is the first year we were able to show students a pathway to careers in engineering via affordable opportunities at McHenry County College. MCC's STEM programs leading to four-year colleges and certificate programs in high needs fields allow all students an opportunity to afford college."
Fellow Hannah Beardsley science teacher Brian Miller, who helped coordinate the event, echoed Warren's excitement about this year's lineup, adding that he was impressed with the caliber of presenters.
"Our students encountered an engineer who designed the latest versions of cellphones with over 100 patents to his name, an engineer who was on the original design team for the GPS system, and an engineer who designed many of the water treatment plants that we benefit from daily, and that's only half the guest list!," he exclaimed.
Six engineering professionals presented to students on Tuesday as they traveled from classroom to classroom on an in-house "field trip." Students learned about the many iterations of today's cellphones as well as how cities are built and monitored, how our health care system has advanced, and how engineers work with all industries to solve problems.
Presenters included Harry Harman from Baxter & Woodman (a regional civil and environmental engineering firm), Randy Smith of General Kinematics (a manufacturing firm headquartered in Crystal Lake), Lou Vannatta from Motorola Mobility (global leaders in cellular communications), Mike Littrell from Cideas, Inc. (a large 3-D printing/additive manufacturing company in Crystal Lake), Daniel St. John from Siemens Healthcare (a global engineering and integrated technologies firm), and Marc Strong from Northrop Grumman (a global aerospace and defense technology company).
According to Miller, "Discover Engineering" week reinforced the value of math and science and made it "real" for many students. "It opened their eyes to future possibilities and introduced them to a field that needs more qualified candidates," he said.
Daniel St. John, senior director of engineering for Siemans Healthcare, commented, "As a director at Siemens, I see a huge void of American engineering talent. I wish more schools followed Hannah Beardsley's model of partnering with people in the industry to educate kids on the wonderful opportunities an engineering career offers."
District 47 appreciates the time and talents of the many who helped make the week a success and offers a special thanks to the engineering professionals for their commitment to corporate responsibility and support of the national STEM effort.