For the second year, the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville's Engineering Directorate participated in a National Science Foundation Science, Technology, and Engineering and Math summer program event. The event was part of a Team Redstone STEM tour.
Huntsville Center employees hosted a two-hour STEM stop for high school and college students who are part of the Upward Bound Program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Harlan, Kentucky.
Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.
Boyce Ross, a native Kentuckian and director of Engineering at Huntsville Center, welcomed the students and gave them an overview of the Corps and Huntsville Center. Ross told students he began his career with the federal government as a student hire, and he is still passionate about his career more than 30 years later.
Huntsville native and president of Southern Kentucky Community and Technical College, Dr. Lynn Moore, coordinated the trip with the Redstone Garrison's outreach coordinator, Megan Gulley. Moore said she wanted the students to see what "her" hometown can offer those who enter STEM career fields.
"Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance,” Moore said. “This STEM tour for our Upward Bound students is funded by the National Science Foundation and focuses on STEM to build interest for emerging careers. The program consists of hands-on activities in various career industries, workplace readiness training, teambuilding, goal setting and personal motivation, in addition to employer site visits and job shadowing experiences in STEM specific fields. "We are looking for good STEM information. We hope this tour will raise awareness of all that is available out there for our students. We want them to know how they can acquire the skills necessary to get good technical jobs."
Jelani Ingram, an architect with the organization's Architectural Design Branch, arranged for students to visit Huntsville Center Engineering Directorate's Building Information Modeling training area to participate in four hands-on activities:
• BIM modeling
• Architectural and Interior Design capabilities
• Civil structures
• Geotechnical cleanup
Also participating in the career talks and STEM demonstrations were Antonio Torres, Roderick Bridgeman, Danice Bulls, Amy Walker, Michele Maxson, Debra Edwards, John Pitsinger, John Nevels, Will White, Stephanie Wood and Jacqueline Johnson, all Engineering Directorate; and Patrick Haas, chief of Chemical Demilitarization Directorate at Huntsville Center.
The students received lots of career advice from Center employees.
“Studying math, science and technology are the stepping stones to so many fascinating careers,” said Bridgeman, chief of the Mechanical Engineering Branch at Huntsville Center said. "It is also very important that you have a positive attitude, can get along with others and work on a team."
"Initially, I wanted to study engineering because I liked the technical side of things,” said Bulls, an interior designer with the Center's Interior Design Section. “However, I decided that I wanted to blend technical with creative and became an interior designer. It’s an interesting way to apply science to a great career.”
"I think architects are composers,” said Ingram, an architect with the Center's Architectural Design Branch. “I knew early on that I wanted to become an architect. After graduating Auburn University, I worked in private industry for a while and got a chance to do some pretty cool designs. Since I've come on board with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, I still get to support some neat projects worldwide. I love my job and working for the Corps. My best advice to you is to find your passion, and go do it!
Visits to the Redstone Test Center and NASA were also stops on the Team Redstone tour. The students were scheduled to visit local private industry STEM businesses July 12.
Moore said she welcomes more STEM visits and mentoring opportunities with the Corps.
"I want to thank all the folks at the Corps for how they have widened the students’ horizons today by giving them a glimpse of the various STEM careers with the Corps. I see the light bulbs coming on in their minds. They are thinking about the future. Taking the time to mentor them today has changed their lives for the better. Thank you," Moore said.