Students from the Academy of Academics and Art shared their enthusiasm about careers in architecture and interior design at Huntsville Center with exclamations like “awesome,” “neat,” “cool” and “wow” during a Science, Technology Engineering and Math activity put on by center workers August 28.
Huntsville Center employees Jelani Ingram, Erin Hamilton and Elizabeth Stiles, Engineering Directorate, led the hourlong STEM discussion and a design demonstration for 20 sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students at the magnet school.
Rebecca Phillips, a science and math teacher at the school, said she wanted to mix art and science together to create an exciting student learning activity that help students remember key concepts. Her goal was to introduce students to a STEM activity to show them, that with a bit of imagination, you can turn almost any science lesson into an art activity that would hold students attention.
According to Phillips, her idea worked.
“I’ve never seen my students so engaged with a STEM activity,” Phillips said. “They were applying the information they were being given by the speakers to what they are currently studying in this class. Although we have just started this semester and have only covered a few concepts, this gives them a better understanding of some of the cool design career clusters under STEM.”
The students also received lots of career advice from Huntsville Center employees.
“An architect manages individual’s and customer’s expectations. If you have a creative mind, an eye for beauty and a knack for solving technical problems, you may want to consider becoming an architect,” Ingram said. “I’ve been interested in becoming an architect since I was a 6 years old. My favorite pastime back then was watching the workers on scaffolding as they remodeled buildings to support projects in downtown Denver. Architecture still fascinates me, and I love my profession.”
“I studied at Auburn University and really liked their interior design program,” Hamilton said. “I never knew I could pursue an interior design career with the federal government. I love that I get to make a difference. I work on projects that make a difference in the lives of military service members and their families. I want to make sure you know this is an option for you if you’re interested in pursuing a career in design.”
“Designers help you visualize a concept,” Stiles said. “We are involved in just about anything you can think of -- furniture, clothing, cars, etc. Interior designers are concerned with the overall safety and well-being of our clients or customers and get to come up with creative solutions for customers. I’ve always wanted to pursue design so I attended the University of Alabama’s campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was a good program that prepared me for my career field. It takes passion -- so find your passion and go do it!”
Center speakers emphasized how important it is for government organizations to reach back and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals. The Corps of Engineers is being proactive in this regard by promoting STEM awareness at every level.
Phillips said she welcomes future visits from the Corps for the remainder of the school year. She’s already scheduled visits from Huntsville Center scientists, engineers and project managers in October.
“Schools in our district need more of this type interaction with STEM professionals,” Phillips said. “The students need to hear more professionals talk about what they do, and how they prepared themselves. As a teacher, every student may not just believe what I say is true about a career. After all, I haven’t worked in every career field so I am giving it to them secondhand. Having STEM discussions like this gives me an opportunity to introduce them to career fields firsthand. Also, middle school students enjoy the hands-on experiences these science and art activities provide. It opens their horizons, and they get to see that there are some unique and exciting STEM career fields out there. Huntsville Center, thank you!”