News Release 08-03
US Army Corps Of Engineers
February 22, 2008 Immediate

Greg Fuderer
Telephone: (213) 452-3923
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Prado engineers host high school students

Corona, Calif. – Los Angeles District engineers took time to give juniors and seniors from three Corona-area high schools a tour of Prado Dam Feb. 20 as part of National Engineers Week.  The tour provided the architectural and engineering students a connection between what they are learning in class and how that information translates into the real world.
 
“They’ve talked about these things and opportunities,” said Glen Stevenson, Drafting/CADD teacher at Santiago High School, “but to be able to get an opportunity to come out and see it first hand, that’s been really good.”

District engineers took time to help provide direction to students by demonstrating the work being done daily at the dam.  For some students, the trip was an awakening to something they miss on a regular basis.

“I pass by here on my way to my cousin’s house,” said Amanda Partida, a senior at Corona High School. “To actually see what’s really going on behind the scenes is really cool.”

That “cool” factor is something Col. Thomas H. Magness IV, Los Angeles district commander, wants to encourage. He said some high school students decide to stop their math or science courses early in their academic careers. This hurts their chances of becoming engineers later in life. He said district employees and teachers in local schools should support students in math and science courses.

“Encourage them to stay in the mathematics programs, stay in the science programs,” Magness said. “Bring them out here and show them what engineers can do to be a part of a solution to make our community better.”

Although they had been studying engineering throughout the school year, it still seemed an abstract concept for some. The tour provided students insight into what, for some, was still a world of numbers and ideas.

“When you hear Engineering, you think you’re going to be crunching numbers all day,” Partida said, “but there’s a lot more to it.”

Magness offered students the opportunity for summer internships once the school year is complete. Stevenson said the offer really hit home for some of the students.
 
“The opportunity for some of the kids to get internships is a side I never thought of,” Stevenson said. “Now I think they’ve got ideas on where they can go with their lives and hopefully [this will help them] make some choices on what they want to do.”

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