Early education of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers is especially important to introduce during high school age, when students are in the mindset of choosing a career path to pursue. STEM education efforts can help young adults discover a strong passion for careers they wouldn’t have otherwise explored, igniting curiosity and promoting analytical skills. Augspurger Komm Engineering, Inc. (AKE) shares this belief in the importance of this initiative and demonstrates its investment in the future generation’s education by providing a hands-on internship program.
Internship Program Background
In partnership with Paradise Valley Schools in Phoenix, AZ, AKE offers interns real-life experience to build a foundation for STEM skills such as scientific/analytical testing, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. PV School’s Center for Research in Engineering, Science, and Technology (CREST) facilitates the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, accepting 150 students per year for internship opportunities. According to the CREST Internship Coordinator, Jason Gershowitz, there are approximately 100 companies that partner with the program each year, and it has been successfully running for over 13 years.
Due to the son of an AKE employee, Kevin Hollander, being involved in the program, the firm became aware of the opportunity to contribute STEM knowledge to the next generation. Each intern is to complete 200 hours to fulfill two elective credits, which is typically completed over the summer. At the end of each internship, they produce a short video presentation and a blog writeup about their experience with the company.
Intern Experience at AKE
AKE has been investing in providing this specialized experience to interns for the past five years, hosting five paid interns of various backgrounds and interests. Although CREST facilitates the placements, the process of landing an internship is the responsibly of the student. AKE interviews the recommended students for its firm and, if appropriate, offers them the position.
STEM-related learning at the laboratory involves primarily observing and assisting the AKE engineers on their assignments, while the engineers explain what they are doing and why. Some examples of services they get the opportunity to learn about firsthand include Accident Reconstruction, Construction Defects, Failure Analysis, Mechanical and Structural Engineering, and Robotics.
In a recent intern presentation, one student in particular enjoyed working on an apparatus for a camera on an X-ray machine, which allowed for the movement of various positions to take images for analyses. Being exposed to innovative exoskeleton technology or wearable robotics, including a posture corrector in partnership with Arizona State University and for lifting heavy cargo with the military, was another exciting real-life example of what the firm offers its interns. He also recounted a memorable experience of touring a machinery in which AKE has a partnership for fabricating precision parts.
CREST’s Work-Based Learning Programs includes the internship of course, but also job shadowing and career speakers. AKE is also a strong advocate of providing job shadowing as it allows new team members to learn while helping AKE to evaluate their aptitude for each type of job. AKE has also participated in career speaking for the students, and is looking to continue that initiative and even host a laboratory field trip in the future.
This community outreach effort that is designed to generate interest in engineering careers has been a prime example of the importance AKE places on investing in the education of the future generation. Senior Consulting Engineer at the firm, Todd Springer, PE believes that this exposure to a professional work environment early in life can influence their path significantly. “First, it enables interns to gain an understanding of what work in a STEM field is like. Second, it provides real-life demonstrations of how the topics they are studying are actually applied. This in turn will affect the way they learn, providing more significance and a greater understanding,” Springer said.