Photo By Staff Sgt. Keith Thornburgh | High school students listen to a panel of base engineers at the Arnold Main Auditorium...... read more read more
Forty high school students took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the engineering profession during the Engineer- For- A-Day event, March 7, 2025, at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex.
The students who participated in the day’s events were from neighboring high schools that included Tullahoma High School, Frankin County High School, Warren County High School, Lincoln County High School, Moore County High School, Cascade High School, Central Magnet High School, Fayetteville High School, Huntland High School, Shelbyville Central High School, Coffee County Central High School, Grundy County High School, and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School.
The day’s activities included students touring the base and visiting areas such as the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility (PWT) and von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility (VKF) where engineers gave them an overview of each facility. Following the tour, the students met with their engineer mentors for lunch. After lunch, they joined their mentors to observe them at work.
Students spent the rest of the day with practicing engineers where they were able to get a close-up view of what an engineer is involved in day-to-day. It also offered the students an opportunity to ask questions regarding the engineering field.
This is the second year for the event that was revived by retired AEDC engineer, Paul Kelly. He, along with several other base personnel, worked to bring back the event in 2024 after a three-year hiatus. Kelly stated that this year’s Engineer- For- A- Day was a success for both the students and the mentors who volunteered their time and knowledge.
“I think the day went very well,” Kelly stated. “I received feedback from the students at the end of the day, and all seemed to have enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. The mentors I talked with really enjoyed spending the time with the students and sharing their workplaces and experience with them."
With another successful year in the books, Kelly looks forward to the event being well received again in 2026. He also hopes to recruit additional mentors in 2026 to share their knowledge and experience with students looking to get into the engineering field.
“For next year, I hope to have more mentors so that there can be a lower ratio of students to mentors. This year, most mentors took two students. A few took more than two. It would be great if we could have one student and one mentor matched up.”
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2025 14:56 |
| Story ID: | 492640 |
| Location: | ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE , TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, AEDC welcomes students for annual Engineer-For-A-Day, by Kali Bradford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
