Students learn new skills at Women in Engineering Day
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| Alex T. Paschal/Telegraph Taylor Grant, a junior at Bureau Valley High School, builds a light-emitting diode flasher at Thursday's Women in Engineering Day. |
BY TARA BECKER
SVN REPORTER
tbecker@svnmail.com
Sixteen-year-old Kim Sharp grasped a floodlight in one hand, positioned her small solar-powered car with the other and prepared for motion.
The car wouldn't budge.
"It looks like it will work," said Charles Atchley, professor of physics and mathematics at Sauk Valley Community College. "Maybe there is just too much friction."
Sharp took the rubber off around the wheels and again held the light over the small car. This time, it moved about an inch.
Sharp, a Rock Falls High School sophomore, was one of 15 girls from Sterling, Rock Falls, Amboy and Bureau Valley high schools to attend the third annual Women in Engineering and Technology Day, which targets girls interested in careers in engineering and engineering technology.
"We want to encourage students to take harder math and science classes now, before they get to the college level," said Sharon Lindahl, Sauk's coordinator of technology preparation.
Many students who take pre-engineering classes at Sauk have higher grade point averages when they transfer to another college than those who begin as a freshman at a four-year school, Lindahl said.
"I think Sauk has done a really good job preparing students to continue on to get an engineering degree," she said.
Jill Bendis, 19, a pre-engineering major, and Emily Gospodarczyk, 20, a physics major, were on hand to help the teens put together their solar cars. This is the second year the two have volunteered to help at the event.
"I like to hear what (the girls') plans are and put in a good word for Sauk and Dr. Atchley," Gospodarczyk said.
"It's cool to hear about what majors they're interested in," Bendis added.
Sharp, who also attended last year, said she wanted to go into the medical or social services field, but after coming to the event, she decided to take high school classes to prepare her to go into engineering.
"I've been thinking a lot since last year about going into engineering, because it sounded more fun and I can make enough money," Sharp said.
This is Amboy High sophomore Kiaya Contreras' first event. "I had two friends who came last year and I came out because I thought it would be fun," the 15-year-old said.
She still is not sure what field she wants to go into, but hopes the event will shed some light for her, Contreras said.
In another room, students learned how to build a light-emitting diode flasher.
Steve McPherson, assistant professor of electronics, walked around the room and talked the girls through connecting the light bulbs to the circuit board, soldering and adding the connection wire. When it came to attaching the on/off switch to the small circuit board, McPherson said they would need a little help from their neighbor.
Sixteen-year-old Taylor Grant held the switch while Caitlin Blaisdell, 17, soldered it to the circuit. "I'm really nervous right now," Grant said, breathing a sigh of relief when Blaisdell finished, with no burns. They connected a 9-watt battery to the wires on the board, which caused the small green and red lights to flash on and off.
Joyce Papiech, a developer for GSG Wind Energy in Sublette, spoke to students about engineering opportunities in sustainable energy and technology, especially for women.
"There are women in the industry; they may not be in every position, but they are in the industry," Papiech said.
In the wind field, Papiech said, engineers are needed for a number of jobs, including project development, environmental impact analysis, operation and maintenance, new product development, project construction and education.
"Engineers are needed in all aspects of getting a wind farm up and running," she said.
Reach Tara Becker at (815) 625-3600 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 570.
Reach Tara Becker at (815) 284-2222 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 570.
