2012 National Engineers Week Foundation Thought Leadership Comments
1. Tell us about a K-12 teacher who inspired you and how his/her influence is relevant to you today.
NASA
Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Administrator
There are two junior high school teachers who I credit with having the greatest influence on me in the areas of science and math. They are: Mr. Benjamin Jeffcoat, my seventh grade math teacher, who offered to stay around after school to work with any of us in the class who wanted to learn new math (set theory); and Mr. James P. Neal, my seventh grade science teacher, who encouraged me to work on a project to compete in the school district science fair. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy building my project (a photocell used to control the opening and closing of a door using a flashlight as a “key”), but I didn’t miss a single science fair competition for the rest of my junior high and senior high years. Another important factor in the influence they had is that, as male teachers at the junior high school level in the segregated South, they represented a very rare breed in the teaching profession where most were female.
BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC.
Keith Bentley, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President
Engineering is a great and noble profession. For the Bentleys, it is in our blood. My father was a mechanical engineer who always wanted to know "how things work." He loved to take things apart, and could seemingly fix anything. He inspired 3 of his 5 sons to also become engineers: I am an electrical engineer, Barry is a chemical engineer, and Ray is a mechanical engineer. I'm pretty sure that together we can design, fix, or improve anything."
SHELL
Russell Ford, Shell Oil Company Executive Vice President, Onshore Assets, Americas.
My 6th grade teacher who challenged and helped show me how I could be better than I thought I was [taught me to] never underestimate the value of your own work and study.
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2. Tell us how you have inspired someone to become an engineer or, more generally, how mentoring helps expand a student’s potential and continuing interest in engineering and related STEM career opportunities.
BECHTEL
Bill Dudley, President and Chief Operating Officer
A significant challenge in our industry is how to attract more women into the engineering profession. Women represent, on average, 57% of all college students in the United States, but only 16% of total enrollments in an undergraduate engineering degree program. Although the numbers of female engineering students have increased substantially since I studied engineering, it is still not enough. Qualified engineers are in demand both here at home and internationally. While all potential engineering students would benefit from a better understanding of where an engineering degree could take them, I really think it is critical that females are given the information they need to understand that an engineering degree is a real option for them, and the potential career paths it can lead to such as operations, project management, business line management and strategy to name a few. One way to provide this information is through mentoring of female students at the junior high and high school levels, and into university. We need to provide the opportunities for these students to see the exciting careers available to them in engineering. And, of course, the mentoring process is critical in the first few years of your career, too. We have many good female role models in the engineering industry already – we just need a lot more of them.
CH2M HILL
Lee McIntire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
I was so bored with math in the seventh grade. My teacher challenged me to prove, using theorems and algebraic logic, that the University of Nebraska Huskers football team could beat Johnny Unitas and the Colts. I got into the challenge, proved the theory, and received his praise—this influence at a young age led to a lifetime passion for math, and the career I have today. It was like magic.
NASA
Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Administrator
I have endeavored to serve as a mentor to students from elementary through college, offering my personal life experience of growing up in the segregated schools of South Carolina where we did not have access to the same courses or curriculum of the white schools, yet I was able to go on to college, enroll in an engineering curriculum, and later go on to enter the field of aviation through the Marine Corps. My life since high school is nothing that I ever dreamed or imagined, but having a sound background in math and science allowed me to catch up with others in college and perform at a level that opened incredible doors to me.
SHELL
Russell Ford, Shell Oil Company Executive Vice President, Onshore Assets, Americas.
I like to tell them that engineering and sciences can take the mystery out of "how things work" and that's fun. Besides, the technical fields prepare you for and lead to many career opportunities, whether or not you practice what you learn in the books
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3. The new world population means 7 billion dreams need doing – dreams engineers and educators can help make happen. When it comes to education, what are the greatest contributions the engineer volunteer community can make?
CH2M HILL
Lee McIntire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
It is a challenge to turn pre-college kids onto engineering. They often think that it is too hard, don’t fully understand what it is, and perhaps cannot visualize the outcome. But volunteering in classrooms, making the profession real and tangible, and sharing the joys and contributions of a life in the world of engineering can make a difference. If we spark the interest of even one student each visit, I consider that a great outcome.
RAYTHEON
William H. Swanson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
One thing I have been consistently impressed by is how passionate engineers are to give of themselves through mentoring, volunteering and educational activities. Engineering is an exciting profession, so one of the greatest contributions the engineering volunteer community can make is to channel and convey this passion and excitement directly to students. We have made this an emphasis of Raytheon’s MathMovesU® initiative, and our employees have responded by quadrupling their total annual volunteer hours over the last four years. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and it is so inspiring to hear the stories from our volunteers and to see the excitement in their faces. They enjoy making a difference, and they are having a big impact in engaging and inspiring future engineers. I experience these connections firsthand when I am judging student math and science competitions and serving as honorary chair of MATHCOUNTS®, as well as when I was honorary chair of National Engineers Week.
SHELL
Marvin Odum, Country Chair, Shell Americas
The best way to showcase the benefits of STEM is for current practioners of the engineering profession to willingly share their time and experiences with young people. Volunteers play a significant and important role in increasing young people’s interest in STEM careers by providing them with the opportunity to make the connection between math and science and real world applications/situations. With the changing demographics and the shortage of minority and women in technical fields, it is imperative that a more diverse volunteer base serve as role models and mentors to help students understand the skills, experience and attitude necessary to become the next generation of STEM professionals.
The engineer volunteer community can help to influence curriculum standards and STEM outreach efforts by taking an active role in:
- Engineering Professional Societies
- STEM Outreach Organizations/Programs/Events (serving on boards/committees, mentoring, tutoring, participating in career days, etc.)
- Middle and High School Boards
- College/University Advisory Boards
In short, engineers play a key role in building the technical talent pipeline for the future to help the “7 billion dreams need doing” become a reality.
BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC.
Barry Bentley, Executive Vice President
As a member of the University of Delaware's College of Engineering Advisory Council, I am impressed with the activities of their Engineers Without Borders Chapter. Engineers Without Borders is a great humanitarian organization and deserves the support of everyone in our profession. Seeing undergraduate students participate, and volunteer their efforts using engineering principles to solve real-world problems gives me confidence in our future. These college students are our “engineers of tomorrow,” and exposure to the challenges faced by the developing world is a practical and useful part of their education.
SHELL
Russell Ford, Shell Oil Company Executive Vice President, Onshore Assets, Americas.
Keep pushing math and science learning. We need all kinds of education to make the world a better place, and the emphasis on the technical side needs to be reinforced.
DuPont
Ellen Kullman, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Education starts at an early age. Consider a toddler trying to figure out how things work -- whether it is opening a door or learning to walk. This natural curiosity should be encouraged and supported, with formal education as well as informal, and it should occur throughout one's life. Educators and engineers can work together increasing basic skills like critical thinking, problem solving, communications, and working in teams, but also strengthening basic education in STEM. This begins with having high quality preschool accessible to all, but extends to postsecondary education and adult learning.
Engineers can help in many ways. For example, by mentoring students for science fairs, robotics competitions, hosting children at work to see more about how engineers make a world of difference, helping educators get access to quality curriculum, working with school boards and government to learn from best practices. Most important, they can tell stories that inspire our new population to dream big. Put a person on Mars. Invent enhancements to our lives. The children of today are the engineers of tomorrow. They need good role models, they need to see the possibilities, and need to see the potential in engineering fields. Engineers can help people of all ages better understand engineering by showing examples of engineers solving problems and shaping the future that helps makes those 7 billion dreams happen.
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