June 2014

NSPE TODAY
Grassroots Learning in Michigan

A partnership between a Michigan Society of Professional Engineers chapter and a high school engineering teacher is getting students out of the classroom and into the field.

In April, when Mark Skiles, an engineering teacher at Bay City Central High School wanted to give his students a different kind of lesson, he reached out to the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers for help. In his previous job as an engineering teacher at a career center for high school juniors and seniors, Skiles had worked with MSPE’s Great Bay Region Chapter to arrange a tour of a local television station by a couple dozen students and professional engineers. The chief broadcast engineer had explained operations of the station and his daily challenges; after the presentation, students asked question and got advice on their school design projects.

Skiles wanted to bring that same real-world experience to his students at BCCHS, located near Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. This time, members of the Great Bay Region Chapter offered insights to a group of students during a tour of the high school’s industrial and engineering education facilities.

Following the tour, chapter members gave presentations on engineering topics, such as the licensure process, the benefits of licensure, development of luges used in the 2014 Winter Olympics, and construction management. Chapter President Matt Reno, P.E., remarked that the students were engaged and asked intuitive questions about what they had learned.

“One of the questions from the students was about the availability of jobs for an engineer,” said Jeff Zawisza, P.E., an engineer with Dow Chemical Co. “I really thought this insightful question was great in combination with figuring out what careers spark their interest.” In response, the engineer emphasized the importance of internships and co-op experience for students to set themselves apart.

Skiles hopes to expand his work with the Great Bay Region Chapter into mentoring or even networking after students graduate and begin looking for jobs.