GIRARD Engineering Career Day pleases NASA scientist

One student said she's excited to see more girls get interested in science.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Craig H. Williams greeted the students that approached his table by asking what they want to be after they graduate.
He smiled at some of the answers -- a philosophy professor at a college, a police officer, a singer on a cruise ship -- but leaned in to talk to the ones who expressed an interest in engineering.
Williams, an aerospace engineer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, manned one of 13 displays Friday during the Engineering Career Day at Girard High School. The event was jointly sponsored by the school and its robotics team.
The career day focused solely on careers in all types of engineering and was the first of its kind in Girard, said Joseph Jeswald, assistant superintendent of schools and an adviser for the robotics team.
"We wanted to teach the kids that there are all types of engineering careers out there," Jeswald said. "We wanted to emphasize that it's for everyone."
Williams, who started the day with a presentation that featured a mini-rover robot from NASA's latest Mars mission, said he was impressed with the turnout.
"There was nothing like this when I was in school," he said. "It's certainly sparking interest in all technical fields for all students."
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Representatives from NASA, ITT Technical Institute, several branches of the armed forces, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several other companies and colleges had displays at the school, encouraging all students to explore technical and scientific fields.
Many of the representatives on hand said they were impressed with the number of female students with serious interests.
Priscilla Roman, a senior and member of the robotics team, said she already has plans to attend ITT Tech to study computer electronics and engineering.
She said she's had her share of people who think because she's female, she shouldn't be interested in technology.
"But there are a lot of girls who help build for the robotics team," she said, adding that she's been to several competitions that feature teams consisting entirely of girls.
"It's interesting to see how many girls are becoming more and more interested in these fields," she said.
Williams said he's just excited to see anyone interested in the technical and scientific fields.
He noted even officials at NASA have started to make a push in attracting students.
"If that takes off, we could really see an increase of students majoring in technical fields," he said.
slshaulis@vindy.com