For students in the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering program at , the stress of testing a project for the first time is as nerve racking as presenting that project to a panel of industry representatives.
Project Lead the Way is a national program that prepares high school students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students taking these courses, offered at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center, earn college credits and gain valuable hands-on experience.
Students recently gained valuable experience not only in researching, designing, building and testing their projects, but also in sharing their projects with industry representatives.
The reviewers were from organizations and businesses including Verizon, Pactiv Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp, Design Interface, Inc., ICI Marine and Carroll County government.
Chris Everich, an industry panelist, said "the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) program they're teaching here models exactly what is happening in the real world, everything from technology to business processes to alternative designs to productizing."
"Right now in the U.S., there is a critical shortage of engineers," Everich said. "It's affecting our competitiveness around the world. Programs like this are crucial for our economy moving forward."
PLTW teacher and one of the event's organizers, Jim Gilford said that he is really proud of the students and impressed with the projects they created this semester.
