Approximately 105 middle and high school students from the region participated in this year’s project. Students were assigned to teams and mentored by industry leaders. This year’s program focused on civil and structural engineering, mechanical processes, and information technology functions in an effort to augment participants’ appreciation for the complexities of designing a future city in which people must work, live and play.

 

The Summer Engineering Institute is a continuation of 31 years of collaboration between VSU and RAPME, which aims to increase diversity in engineering by exposing middle and high school students to the world of engineering disciplines in a college environment. Each summer, dozens of young students attend three- to five-week SEI courses where they learn and compete on a college campus.  Bonds developed during the SEI often lead participants to commit to attending college together and serve as a support system throughout the hardships of earning an engineering degree. To date, more than 3,800 minority students have participated in the program. RAPME also collaborates with Virginia Commonwealth University and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in this effort.

 

During the ceremony, Dr. Gymama Slaughter, VSU computer engineering professor and program director, will recognize students who demonstrated outstanding skills throughout the program as well as recognize Carrie Langelotti and Austin Brockenbrough & Associates for participating in a leadership capacity in the 2009 SEI.

 

Student projects will be assessed by a panel of judges to include CEOs and senior leadership from regional industry, including Joe Internicola, plant manager at Dupont, which serves as a major contributor to pre-college efforts to increase minority participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines. 

 

With the awareness that students must be equipped to compete in the global market, Dupont and VSU continue collaborative efforts to promote initiatives for pre-college students. Recently, Dupont’s Bill Fisher Jr., a unit manager at the DuPont Spruance plant, and Lisa Randal, DuPont Spruance communications and community relations manager, met with nearly 100 middle and high school students participating in the VSU Undergraduate Bridge Program to help students explore a future in the industry. Fisher and Randal showcased a fire retardant firefighter suit and Kevlar Army jacket, both made by Dupont. The students got a chance to wear the gear and get a first-hand look at the type of innovation that occurs in the industry.

 

A 2006 National Science Foundation report revealed that 12.9 million jobs in the United States required a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that professions requiring STEM training could increase by 70 percent more than the growth rate for non-STEM professions.