Jacksonville, Fla. – More than 100 high school students and teachers from 11 public and private schools in northeast Florida attended the annual Engineering Career Day event, hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District on Feb. 27. This day-long event has been co-sponsored with the Society of American Engineers (SAME) Jacksonville Post for the past 13 years.
“Every year is so different, so unique,” said Laureen Borochaner, chief of engineering for the Corps’ Jacksonville District. “But this year I’d say we had the broadest spectrum of ideas I’ve ever seen.”
“We hope to provide these students an appreciation for the STEM fields,” said Borochaner. “We also hope they get an appreciation for the work we do at the Army Corps of Engineers. The take-home project they worked on is not dissimilar to what they would do if they worked at the Corps of Engineers.”
STEM education is a movement in American education to help teachers and students understand how the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics impact the world and prepare students for the workforce of tomorrow.
Career Day 2015’s take home problem involved developing a method of debris removal. The students had to create a machine capable of removing simulated debris from a reservoir and depositing the debris in a separate container. The debris used for this problem was breakfast cereal.
The students were greeted on the day of the event with a very challenging surprise problem that required students to design a structure with provided materials that would support a roadway for a toy car to travel and be accelerated as it leaves the structure and travels across a horizontal surface.
Bishop Kenny High School entered three teams, and team A won first place in the Take Home Challenge and Overall. Lt. Col. Mark Himes, Deputy Commander, Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presented Bishop Kenny, Team A, with the Stanley Cup of Engineering, the James L. Garland Award for Engineering Excellence. This award includes plaques representing all past winners and will make Bishop Kenny High School its’ home for the year to come.
Winners for the Engineering Career Day Event were:
Overall winners:
1st Place and winners of The James L. Garland Award for Engineering Excellence: Bishop Kenny High School, Team A.
Alan Conrad, James Christian, Thad Daguilh and Jeff DelaCruz. Instructor: Vicki Schmidt
2nd Place: Christ Church Academy, Team C.
Connor Adams, Meredith Smith, Paige Phillips and Aaron Anderson. Instructor: Anne Miller.
3rd Place: Eagles View Academy, Team A.
Hayley Porter, Katelyn Atchley, Autumn Herrera and Alex Withrow. Instructor: Susan Dixon.
Winners in Individual Team Events were:
Surprise Problem –
1st Place: Frank H. Peterson Academies, Team A.
Carlos Arteaga, John Bannerman, Evan Goodrich and Andre Kelly. Instructor: Russ Henderlite.
2nd Place: Providence High School, Team A.
Liesa Sprungmann, Danielle Gattoni, Prem Patel and Issac Scott. Instructor: Laura McGill.
3rd Place: Providence High School, Team B.
Katie Messer, Hannah Gicalone, Emma Stotlemyer and Grace Stotlemyer. Instructor: Laura McGill.
Take Home Challenge -
1st Place: Bishop Kenny High School, Team A.
2nd Place: Bishop Kenny High School, Team C.
Tyler Kolby, Chris Prattos and Jacob Williams. Instructor: Vicki Schmidt.
3rd Place: Eagles View Academy, Team A.
“This is an opportunity to engage younger crowds, high school level students, and get them interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Lt. Col. Mark Himes. “Events like today will build an energy that will grow and develop and potentially lead them, as they continue their education, to become this nation’s future scientists and engineers.