Engineering classes offer preparation for the future

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A class at Warren G. Harding High School prepares students for careers in engineering.
Daniel Drescher, engineering graphics teacher, said the school has offered engineering and drafting as part of its curriculum for many years, but about 12 years ago, that evolved into the college preparatory course.
"The curriculum has changed over the years because of the way engineering works," Drescher said.
Engineers used to rely on drafters to complete their work, but that's changed with the advent of technology so that engineers do the work themselves.
Between 100 and 150 students enrolled in three sections of engineering graphics classes Drescher taught this school year. Most of the sophomores, juniors and seniors are boys, although the teacher estimated that about 20 percent of his students are girls.
In the back of his classroom, Drescher has a collage plastered with senior pictures of current and former students who have entered engineering or related fields. One former student, a woman who graduated in 1994, now works as the head of software design at Proctor & amp; Gamble.
There are no hard and fast prerequisites to enroll in engineering graphics 1, but students typically demonstrate math and science aptitude.
"It's more the exploratory level in 10th grade," Drescher said.
But if students take all three levels of the class, it generally solidifies their interest in the field.
"Most study engineering in college if they take it all three years," Drescher said.
During the three courses, students also learn computer-aided drafting, designing three-dimensional models of mechanical parts.
For a final project, students in engineering graphics 1 used protractors, paper, pencils and drafting tools to draw a multiple view of a rocker arm, a mechanical part in combustible engines.
Career preparation
Drescher also teaches architectural design and computer graphics.
Junior Donald Motley, 16, a student in Drescher's computer graphics class, hardly took his eyes off the computer screen as he talked about his career plans.
"I've always been interested in animation," Motley said, explaining that he enrolled in the class thinking he may want to take animation in college.
The class intensified his interest. He hopes for a career in animation, possibly in the film industry.
For one of the projects, Motley created a swordfish swimming through the sea.
Computer graphics is a half-credit exploratory course. The popularity of films like "Shrek" and "Toy Story" has piqued the interest of many young people in the field, and many "colleges are trying to catch up, curriculum-wise," the teacher said.
It's also a difficult study to categorize. Some colleges classify it with the art department, some with computers, engineering or film.
Next year, Motley will take advanced computer graphics probably through an independent study with Drescher.
"[Harding Principal] Bill Mullane and I do a lot of that to meet the individual interests of students who have a specific direction they want to go," Drescher said.