Photo By Brooks Hubbard IV | Capt. Cristina Palomino, project manager, mega projects, works with students on a...... read more read more
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Future Army officers were joined by a team with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District to bring awareness to science, technology, engineering, arts and math April 5 at the Stephen White Middle School and STEAM Magnet in Carson.
The West Point Leadership in Ethics and Diversity in STEM workshop was led by cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. USACE’s participation in the event was led by Lt. Col Stephen Brooks, deputy commander of the LA District.
During the event, JROTC cadets from Gardena High and Washington Preparatory schools, along with students from the 186th Street Elementary School, learned about STEAM and JROTC while building model bridges tested by USACE’s LA District team.
Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland, 61st superintendent at West Point, and Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, gave opening remarks before the students broke into groups for outbreak sessions.
“Today, you will hear from the person who is responsible for the education of America’s leaders, and, hopefully, you will also hear throughout today about the opportunities proudly spoken to you by students themselves … individuals who made the choice, made a commitment to serve their country in terms of future careers,” Carvalho said.
“They will speak to you about the doors that can be open through service to country.”
USACE’s challenge for students was to design and build a small model bridge with K’NEX bridge building kits to determine its load-bearing potential.
Capt. Cristina Palomino, project manager with the LA District Mega Division; 1st Lt. Zachary Petasek, project manager with the LA District Santa Ana River Mainstem project; and John Greenheck and Thad Fukushima with the LA District’s Construction Division, recorded measurements of the bridges and added weight until the bridges reached their structural limits.
“This brings back some memories when I was in middle school, high school and college – back to my early days of STEM,” Smith said.
“We’re here to introduce the kids to what we do as a district and kind of spur their future STEM minds, as there is a lot of interest in what we do.
“Our outreach at different elementary and high schools, as well as universities in our district is one of our biggest initiatives in getting out and being a forward-facing district.”
After the students completed their bridges, they were then load-tested for the competition. Students with bridges that withstood the added weight before collapsing earned prizes for their design and construction.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognizes the critical role that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leaders of the global marketplace, and enabling the Department of Defense and Army in the security of our nation.
USACE is committed to teaming with others to strengthen STEM-related programs that inspire current and future generations of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields.
| Date Taken: | 04.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2024 20:24 |
| Story ID: | 470597 |
| Location: | CARSON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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