Every year at Curtis the teachers and staff try to expand the school’s repertoire of classes to fit the needs of its students. One of this year’s new additions is an engineering class, a rising field with new career paths found all over the world.

“We are looking to the future for our students, especially in the STEM field,” said Ms. Holzer, the assistant principal of the science department. “Lots of STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are being outsourced to people outside of the United States and we would like see our students follow this career path.”

In a 2012 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, it was stated that the US needs to graduate 1 million STEM majors over the next decade to stay even with demand. “By getting more students interested in engineering, we can help to bring more passion and smart minds to the engineering field,” said Holzer.

The class is taught by Ms. Jackson, who hopes to impart her love for science and engineering to the students. “We are taking the time to highlight different types of engineering: environmental, computer, civil, and mechanical,” said Jackson. “We hope to create enough interest in the school to eventually start at four year program centered around engineering.”

The students explore engineering concepts through activities such as building bridges out of straws, investigating runoff, computer programming, and even experimenting with Lego robots. A student in the class, Teren Destajo is really enjoying these and other activities. “I want to pursue a career in computer engineering, and I think that this class will really help me prepare for a future in engineering,” said Destajo.

“At the end of the day, we would like the students to leave the class having a better understanding of the world of engineering and how it affects their day to day lives, and hopefully they will eventually chose to pursue it as their career,” said Holzer.