July 21, 2008

Contact: Teana Fredeen
Engineering Outreach
805-756-5476
tfredeen@calpoly.edu

Engineering Days A Huge Success

How do you inspire teenagers to become our next great generation of engineers? Turn them loose in Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” labs for a week of hands-on engineering activities and let them engineer tissue or construct rockets.

Led by Cal Poly faculty members and enthusiastic engineering student “counselors,” Engineering Days gives high school students a taste of the excitement and satisfaction that comes with engineering innovation and problem-solving. By all accounts, the 2008 Engineering Days program met its goals.

Targeted marketing, scholarships and sponsored transportation helped ensure the program’s success in recruiting underrepresented students, vital to increasing diversity both on campus and in the workplace. Of the 93 students who attended, 63% were from underrepresented groups, including 28 females. Students were primarily from local counties, but also included 11 from non-local counties and three from out of state.

Engineering Days received $75,000 in donations including Platinum sponsorship from Cisco, Edwards Air Force Base and Fluor. Over $9,000 was used to provide scholarships directly to the attending high school students. During the week, students participated in the following events:

• Hands-on labs taught by Cal Poly professors • Presentations by Chevron and NASA engineers • Plant Tours  • Professional development session on networking given by Cal Poly student mentors • Cal Poly Admissions presentation • College of Engineering tour • Collegiate Panel  • Fun day at Cal Poly’s University Union  • Student showcase

Although data is not yet available on how many of the participants go on to choose an engineering path or apply to Cal Poly Engineering, feedback from the students indicates that Engineering Days indeed inspired new goals and expanded their outlooks on engineering:

“I used to think that engineers just built bridges and roads, but now I know that engineers can make a difference in the world.” – Jorge Piñon, age 16

“[Prior to the camp] I was thinking of becoming a lawyer, but now I want to be an engineer.” – Maximo Guzmo, age 15

“I think engineering is way more fun than I originally thought is was. You get to do stuff and invent and help the world be a better place.” --- Natalie Hagler, age 13

“I was very glad to be in this opportunity because I got to build rockets … Actually, before I came here I thought of doing astronomy but after attending these seminars I might have actually been interested in aerospace engineering…” --- Justin Elenes, age 17