Two special presentations and a competition for local high school students will be held during National Engineers Week at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
On Monday, Feb. 18, engineering instructor Joe Kalaski will present “Ethics in the Cyberworld of the 21st Century” at 3:00 p.m. in room 102 Eberly. This event is free and open to the public.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, Academic students from five regional high schools will be competing in the 25th annual TEAMS competition at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus. The competition will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the lower level of the library.
In this competition, 12 student teams from Connellsville Area, Jefferson Morgan, Peters Township, Ringgold and Somerset Area High Schools will compete to solve real world problems. The TEAMS exam will have questions based around this year’s theme, “Engineering a Secure Cyberspace.”
David Meredith, associate professor of engineering, explained that this competition gives students a positive experience about using math and science to solve in the engineering profession. “Working as a team emphasizes the importance of communication skills,” said Meredith. “No one individual can know all the answers, so it is the synergism of the team that makes the difference.”
Also on Thursday, Feb. 21, Penn State Fayette alumna Kelly (Stacek) Campitell will return to speak at 6:30 p.m. in 103 Eberly. Campitell will discuss her experiences designing ice rinks around the world from her home office in Johnstown. Attending will be local high school students who have applied to Penn State and have expressed an interest in Engineering as well as local middle school females participating in the Girrl Power! program, a STEM initiative to encourage young women to consider careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The program was initiated by a Penn State-Fayette female engineering student in 2000 and continues today to introduce young female minds to the world of STEM.
Meredith says, “It is always exciting to hear about what our Penn State Fayette alumnae have accomplished after graduation. To establish a career in the global market with a two-year degree is certainly a personal accomplishment. For her to return to share her knowledge with our current students and the next generation of college students shows her Penn State pride.”