MISSISSIPPI VALLE Y DIVISION
“As a UWP graduate and ASCE member myself, I thought it would be a good opportunity for the students to see real-world application of what they are learning in the classroom,” Stephens said. “It makes students aware of what kind of work the Rock Island District does and the benefits we provide to the public.” When asked what the students get out of tours like this, Mack said that the real-world engineering examples are the biggest benefit of the trip along with speaking to the folks on the ground. “Talking with experienced professionals about what is happening on the jobsite helps just a bit more when creating a certain structure, especially for the efficiency of constructability,” Mack said. The UWP ASCE chapter includes more than 200 students with about 50 to 75 of those students maintaining an active role in the group. In addition to attending meetings and tours like the one at Lock and Dam 11, the group competes in competitions like concrete canoe building and steel bridge building. They also attend many K-12 outreach programs, where they go to schools and present about civil
engineering and ASCE. Additionally, they participate in a once-per-semester highway cleanup along designated routes. While the ASCE chapter stays busy throughout the year, the tour of the dewatered lock provided a unique experience that extended beyond their typical goal of acquiring engineering information and allowed them a chance to step back in history a bit. “The group was very excited for this opportunity and we all left amazed,” Mack said. “After the tour, we had the chance to look at photos of the lock and dam construction in the 1930s, and these photos were quite amazing. Compared to the machinery they used in the ’30s, the equipment that we have now is far superior.” Not only was this an opportunity for the students of UWP, but USACE employees benefited from the tour as well. “It is a great opportunity to get to know engineering students and to promote a career that is very rewarding,” Stephens said. “I love being able to discuss with them how the material they are learning in college will ultimately be applied in their careers.” n
THE ST. LOUIS DISTRICT K-12 STEM OUTREACH PROGRAM BY ROMANDA WALKER AND BROOKE MAGARY, St. Louis District
USACE PHOTO
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s America’s lead engineering organization, it is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) responsibility to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related curriculum and careers. The St. Louis District K-12 Outreach Program serves as a model outreach program for USACE. Led by the public affairs outreach coordinator, the program relies completely on volunteers and ties the missions of the St. Louis District and its partners with the needs of local students. By partnering with local federal and nonfederal agencies and organizations, the outreach team has been able to continue to successfully support and expand the Outreach Program. These partnering organizations include: the Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Defense Contract Management Agency Boeing St. Louis, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, the St. Louis Zoo, the Audubon Center at Riverlands, the National Park Service, and St. Teresa Catholic School. Additionally, the team has entered into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local high schools and universities. These MOUs help enhance and expand the district’s Outreach Program. The program truly is invaluable. Professionals take their knowledge and skills and share them with students who would otherwise never have the opportunity to talk to an engineer, archaeologist, or park ranger.
The St. Teresa Catholic School program utilizes in-class presentations, workshops, activities, and field trips that promote the missions of USACE, its partners, and stakeholders. Environmental managers from the Weldon Spring Department of Energy spoke with students about groundwater monitoring, radiation, and unstable molecules.
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