Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008 - (Page 15)

Students from Pennsylvania’s affiliate ACE Mentor Program try their hands at site plotting. to a rising senior and rising junior, with a third going to an incoming freshman selected by the faculty,” explains Executive Director Joe Lord. Unlike many scholarships, Lord says, grade point average (GPA) is not part of the selection criteria. “We found that many students didn’t apply because they assumed the scholarships were going to the 4.0 students,” he says. “Taking GPA out of it has helped increase the number of applicants.” But it’s up to teachers to let students know those funds are available. Partners in Promotion Cultivating the next generation of engineers also requires reaching out to the educators who shape what and how students learn. One example is ACEC/California’s multifaceted program for junior and senior high schools. Volunteer outreach liaisons from various chapters work with guidance counselors and teachers on projects ranging Nate Bell, an MIT engineering graduate and host of the PBS reality competition Design Squad, demonstrates his invention, the Power Ascender, to visitors at the 15th annual Discover Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., in February. from science fairs to special events to promote careers in engineering and surveying. Rozga says these efforts reach thousands of students each year. “We also are encouraging chapters to consider holding a local event with high school teachers and counselors so that we can establish relationships with them, in hopes of making more direct connections between the working professionals and the students,” she adds. Other Member Organizations are developing programs to help raise teachers’ awareness of engineering careers. Last year, ACEC/Virginia launched a two-year 21st Century Fellows pilot program in cooperation with the MathScience Innovation Center, a Richmond-based organization dedicated to math and science education for K–12 teachers and students. Seventeen central Virginia teachers attended a two-week summer institute where they learned about built environment engineering from ACEC/ Virginia Member Firms via presentations, panel discussions and project field trips. “The teachers then used that experience to incorporate engineering into various classroom and school activities,” says ACEC/Virginia Executive Director Nancy Israel. Educators praised the program and its relevance. A three-day minisession attracted more than 50 additional teachers. And plans are under way to repeat the program in 2009, expanding it to include teachers from other parts of the state. In Massachusetts, a not-for-profit association management company co-sponsored by ACEC/Massachusetts—The Engineering Center—is involved in a similar collaboration with the South/West Regional Employment Board to promote the Massachusetts Department of Educationsponsored Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology (LIFT2) program. “Through LIFT2, our Member Firms sponsor five- to eight-week externships for secondary school science, technology and math teachers,” says Susan D’Olimpio, The Engineering Center’s association manager. “Through direct engagement with teachers, companies can offer significant insight into careers that have high relevance for students, which in turn motivates them to pursue science and technology majors and, ultimately, careers in engineering fields.” Participating teachers spent their externships engaged in a variety of activities for a comprehensive look at engineering. In sharing the experience of her “summer vacation” in ACEC/Massachusetts’ Insights newsletter, Judi Robinson, a teacher at William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, wrote that her experience “was not only valuable for me to get reacquainted with the 21st century science work world, but it continues to be a true asset in my teaching.” It might be some time before these and other educational outreach efforts translate into an uptick of new engineers. But there should be no doubt that the right approach, complemented by an engineer’s passion and enthusiasm for his or her profession, can make a difference. “I am an engineer today because an engineer/surveyor took the time to talk to me when I was starting college about the opportunities available to someone who could ‘do the math’ and also communicate about the results,” says ACEC/California’s Rozga. “Many of the folks involved in our student outreach see it as an opportunity to influence students as they were influenced when they were making career choices. It’s a way to give back to the profession and, to a degree, to our communities that will depend on engineers and surveyors to build the infrastructure we need to thrive as a society.” n Jim Parsons is a business writer living in Bristow, Va. Choose Engineering as Your College Major, ACEC’s colorful new informational brochure on engineering careers geared toward middle and high school students, will be available soon. The brochure features a state-by-state listing of all colleges and universities (including their URLs) offering Bachelor of Science programs in traditional engineering disciplines. November / December 2008 eNGINeerING INc. 15

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 Contents From ACEC to You News & Notes Market Watch Legislative Action Engineering Goes Back to School Winning the Talent War Mastering A Hard-Luck Economy Education Makes the Grade in Green Construction 2008 Young Professionals of the Year 2008 Fall Conference Highlights Technology Members in the News One On One

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008

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