Through the San Diego MESA Alliance, high school and college students were able to have a unique experience to witness the “real world” of work in an engineering or scientific environment. The following companies and faculty involved provided a great opportunity for our up and coming students to “test the waters” in a field of their interest and see first-hand how classroom skills relate to the workplace. What better way to do that, than observe and work with a professional in action! The employer gets to make a positive impact on the lives of students; future engineers and scientists!
Students typically shadow a math, science or engineering professional from a company from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. During this time, hosts are asked to provide the best experience possible; this is after all a potential employee. They were given flexibility to structure a Shadow Day agenda to best match their company’s environment.
Total student participants: 100
- MEP @ San Diego State Univ: 62
- MESA Southwestern College: 15
- MESA San Diego City College: 4
- MESA Pre College ~ Imperial Valley: 12
- MESA Pre College ~ San Diego: 12
Shadow Day is a wonderful opportunity to engage, educate and inspire future Engineers and Scientists. Specifically:
- Host Engineering & Physical Science Majors
- Showcase Firm
- Mentor Potential Employees
Shadow Day 2011 was held on Thursday, November 17, from ~9:00 – 2:00 pm.
The following companies participated in Shadow Day 2011:
- BDS Engineering: 2
- Black & Veatch: 1
- CALTRANS/PEGC: 4
- Chem Research Lab (Harrison)~ SDSU: 4
- Computational Science Lab (Paolini) ~ SDSU: 5
- Hamilton Sundstrand: 5
- Kennedy Jenks: 1
- Morse High School: 4
- Nasland Engr: 3
- NAVAIR: 7
- Rick Engineering: 4
- Solar Turbines/HB/KM: 58 (34 College & 21 HS)
- T.Y. Lin: 3
- TKDA: 2
The 6 companies in bold had their Shadow Day coordinated by MESA/MEP alumni. 2 students visited TKDA which is located in Irvine. In addition, MESA Directors also gave a presentation to Solar Turbines about the San Diego MESA Alliance.
Any additional photo/video coverage can be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance Facebook page.
Student participants were asked to attend 1 of the following student prep meetings listed below, where they were given the full run-down of what to expect and what companies were expecting from students in terms of mannerisms and professionalism:
- Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at San Diego State University, Engineering Building, Room 201, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm.
- Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at San Diego State University, Engineering Building, Room 201, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm.
- Thursday, November 10, 2011 at Southwestern College, Computer Lab 393/MESA Center 396, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
Shadow Day 2011 information can also be found at:
http://mep.sdsu.edu/ShadowDay.htm