As hundreds of middle and high school students reflect on their summer experience learning about engineering and campus life during EPIC, the program’s staff members also consider what they gained from teaching and mentoring future Cal Poly hopefuls.
Since 2016, Engineering Possibilities in College (EPIC) has introduced over 5,000 young people to engineering and Cal Poly through one-week residential sessions. Campers engage in hands-on labs, forge new friendships and create lasting memories.
A team of about 70 Cal Poly students and faculty members form the backbone of the program, serving as counselors, lab assistants, instructors and general programming assistants. They offer campers a glimpse of Cal Poly life, often influencing their eventual college choice.
Just ask Jordan Wagner.
Jordan Wagner
Wagner, from Rocklin, California, attended EPIC the summer before her senior year. Although she knew she wanted to pursue engineering, she was unsure about the different disciplines or where she wanted to go to college.
Then, in an EPIC lab while watching molten metal being poured, she discovered her path.
“That was my first experience with Learn by Doing, and I thought it was so cool,” said Wagner, who applied and was accepted to Cal Poly a few months later.
In the fall of her freshman year as a mechanical engineering major, she found herself in the same metal casting lab with the same professor she had met during her EPIC experience.
Choosing Cal Poly was the best decision she’s made: “I love this school so much. I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.”
After finishing her freshman year, Wagner stayed on campus this summer to serve as a night counselor for EPIC campers. She picked them up after labs, helped them work on constructing the cardboard canoe they would later race in the pool, and oversaw evening activities and free time.
Throughout the week, campers frequently sought her advice about her journey from EPIC to Cal Poly, asking about everything from academic requirements to social life and how she balances it all.
Wagner also used her time at EPIC to learn from her co-workers, who were in their fourth and fifth years, about their engineering paths. She made new friends and mentioned she’ll be on the lookout for any of her campers who choose Cal Poly, just as she did.
Madeline Slater
Fellow mechanical engineering major Madeline Slater also participated in EPIC as a camper, though her experience was quite different.
She attended in 2021 when the camp was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While she gleaned valuable information from the labs and lectures, she missed out on the full EPIC immersion.
When the call went out for summer employees, she jumped at the chance to help, which allowed her to finally experience the program in person.
“I was part of the morning cheer and enjoyed seeing all the fun activities they did outside their labs,” said Slater, who worked as a day counselor before entering her third year in the fall.
Like Wagner, Slater took metal casting her freshman year, and she said watching the campers go through it was a highlight. The 3D printing lab was another favorite, she said, with her campers creating cars and cube puzzles.
“It was great to see their enthusiasm,” she said. “Engineering excites me, but it was wonderful to see they also can be so interested at a young age.”
Between the labs she attended with her group, Slater chatted and connected with the campers, sharing tips on navigating the college application process and explaining why Cal Poly is a strong choice.
“Those four weeks just flew by,” she said.
Jack Kisling
Last summer, aerospace engineering senior Jack Kisling was sailing a 70-foot racing yacht from Hawaii to California.
The owner had competed in the Transpacific Yacht Race, and Kisling, born and raised in a sailing family from Santa Cruz, was ferrying the boat back to the Port of Long Beach.
He had a similar offer to sail the vessel of his dreams this summer, but he honored his commitment to help during EPIC, positively impacting numerous campers in mechanical engineering Professor Melinda Keller’s Fun with Rockets lab.
As one of Keller’s student assistants, Kisling guided campers in building rockets, calculating their altitude and launching them from the field below the Hangar machine shop. He’s also collaborating with Keller on a Summer Undergraduate Research Program project.
Years of nannying and tutoring made him a natural with the campers. He gave impromptu lessons on aerodynamics using the wind and taught them how to read an altimeter.
“I had to find the balance between being a friend and a mentor to the students, but I made good connections and fielded questions on a wide range of topics,” he said. “They felt comfortable asking me anything.”
Kisling shared with them his lifelong love of airplanes, his journey to getting his pilot’s license during COVID, his path to Cal Poly and his aspirations to one day design racing yachts.
Although he had to forgo that sailing voyage from Hawaii, he said his EPIC experience was well worth it. His impactful interactions with students will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.
To learn more about EPIC, visit here.
By Emily Slater
