ENGINEERING
Steep in STEM CASTILLEJA ENGINEERING SPARKS GROWING IMAGINATION AND INTEREST Bryan Valek taught Engineering 1 for the first time in the fall of 2013, and sixteen students enrolled. It was a good start for the course, which was designed as an introduction for people who are curious about everyday technology and design, including simple machines, motors, and circuits, Since then, the number of students signing up for Engineering 1 has grown to 25 enrolled in two sections this fall.
Studies have long shown that graduates of all-girls schools pursue STEM in college in greater numbers. At Castilleja, in the heart of Silicon Valley with innovation all around us, we are seeing that college isn’t soon enough. “In naming the course Engineering 1,” Mr. Valek explained, “we were putting it out there that we wanted to create Engineering 2 someday.” That day arrived last January, when Julian Cortella taught the first section of that second installment, which explored more advanced skills—including 3-D computer-aided design, microcontrollers, and analog and digital circuit design—and important topics like artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and control systems. They also took on bigger questions that are especially relevant to Castilleja students who are considering careers in engineering. Why are there so few women in the field? Where do they perceive a bias toward profit? And how can they work within that system to bring about social good?
Engineering 2 was meant to be very hands on and collaborative, and those goals were impacted by the campus closure due to COVID-19. However, Mr. Cortella made some adjustments that will stick around even after students begin in-person learning again. “Casti was very supportive and bought programmable robot sets for every student, allowing us to continue the work on control systems that was originally designed as a collaborative activity with shared equipment. I will definitely work with those again because we used them to learn pretty sophisticated control theory and moved beyond my original expectations.” Throughout the campus closure, the Castilleja faculty members have been reflecting on habits of mind they hope to nurture in their students to keep them excited and curious. In a Zoom class recently, Mr. Valek seemed to be outlining one of these habits as he introduced a new piece of software, warning, “This is going to take some trial and error. You’re going to get it wrong, and then you’re going to get it wrong again, and it’s going to be pretty frustrating. But if you stick to it, you will learn a useful tool that will help you build some really cool things.” The desire to build some really cool things, no doubt, is part of what has inspired the steep rise in Castilleja students who are signing up for engineering classes and the robotics team; and perseverance is what can keep them engaged over the long haul. In the fall of 2021–22, Castilleja will offer its first ever Advanced Topics in Engineering class. This takes the program even further than the initial vision of Engineering 1 and Engineering 2. That can happen when you build really cool things at Castilleja, the final results can quickly outstrip your imagination. 2020 - 2021
2019 - 2020 2013 - 2014
ENGINEERING 1
ENGINEERING 1
ENGINEERING 2
ENGINEERING 1
ENGINEERING 2
INTEREST IN ENGINEERING Since first offered in 2013, the Engineering elective has grown from 16 enterprising students to 46 spanning two sections each of Engineering 1 and Engineering 2. Next up, the department will add an Advanced Topics Engineering course with a focus on Product Development.
8 | Castilleja School
