Members of Tufts' section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Engineering Student Council and Tau Beta Pi, Tufts' engineering honor society, have been making trips to local high schools to talk about engineering in an effort to reach out to interested students.
A group of Tufts students went to Reading Memorial High School last semester, where they addressed students in upper-level math classes. The program also went to Billerica Memorial High School two weeks ago and spoke with students in their junior year who were interested in engineering, according to SWE Outreach Coordinator RichaBatra.
The group's goal is to visit five schools this semester, with Saint Clement High School in Medford on the list for a trip within the next two weeks, Batra, a senior, said.
The group offers high school students a presentation that makes them more aware of the engineering world, Tau Beta Pi Outreach Chair Kevin Morrissey said. He added that at Billerica, the group spoke to between 20 and 30 students.
"We had a PowerPoint presentation about what engineers do, what kinds of engineering there are, what you can do with each one and what it takes to become an engineer," Morrissey, a senior, said.
"Our main three goals are to explain what engineering is and dispel any misconceptions or stereotypes about what engineers are, and we also want to share with them what you can do with an engineering degree, what we're doing with our degree and certain projects that we've worked on," Batra, said.
"We also want them to know about certain opportunities that they can get involved with right now," she said.
After the PowerPoint, the group answers questions from students, Morrissey said. All of the students have responded positively to the presentation, taking advantage of the chance to learn more about the field, he said.
"I think this would have been really helpful for me if I was in high school to find out more about engineering and why it's so exciting," he said.
The program sent in an application to the Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola's Student Grant Program in the fall and is now receiving full funding, Batra said.
The grant also allows the group to bring food or giveaways to the schools, including a handout with information about programs and activities for high school students interested in engineering, according to Batra.
The high school outreach program started two years ago but has not been active since this fall, Batra explained.
"I wanted to start it up again because that's what got me involved with SWE two years ago," she said. "I think we really do make a difference talking to these kids about what engineering is."
Tau Beta Pi, which is comprised of the top ten percent of junior and senior engineering students at Tufts, became involved with the project this year, according to Morrissey.
The groups have come together to make a combined outreach effort, Batra explained.
"We want to have a very diverse group that goes to the high school to talk with the students," she said.
SWE member and Tau Beta Pi Corresponding Secretary Lisa Pinals graduated from Billerica Memorial High School and used her contacts to get the program started there.
"My sister's a senior there now, so we just asked for her guidance counselor's contact information, and then I emailed her," she said.
Pinals received the International Relations Program's Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize last spring, which allowed her to start an engineering outreach program while she studied abroad.
"I went to different elementary schools in Australia and did classroom presentations, basically like what engineering is and the basics of it," she said.
"I definitely came back wanting to continue with the outreach," she added. "I think it's really important ... to give back. I know I didn't know anything about engineering before I came to college, so I just want to change that for some kids."
Morrissey also said that he did not know much about engineering when he was in high school.
"I just knew it had to do with math and science," he said.
The School of Engineering has been supportive of the outreach initiative, with professors coming along to share a robot demonstration with students at Reading Memorial High last semester, Batra said.
But the group is suffering from low involvement and is comprised mostly of seniors, she said.
"We're really hoping to get a few more people involved before this year is over, so they can continue on with the project," she said.
