EAP Summer 2017: Introduction

Metro Engineering Apprenticeship

310 S Peoria ◦ Chicago, IL 60607

Metro-engineering@midtown-metro.org

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Welcome to Metro Summer 2017! 

Reflecting on my first week of staff training, I believe that anyone who walked into the doors of the Metro Achievement Center was subject to an overwhelming presence of joy. This energy radiated all the way to the fifth floor, where the high school apprenticeship staff was planning, organizing and preparing for the next six weeks to come.

This summer, I am working with fifteen young women in the Engineering Apprenticeship Program. This means every day I have the opportunity to design, collaborate and discuss engineering in the light of justice and service learning.

Engineering is an interdisciplinary field which incorporates technical fields of science, technology, and math with areas of art and design. Engineers must use this knowledge to efficiently solve problems every day. Well-rounded engineers not only complete their work well but also act ethically and aspire to live a life of virtue. Through Character education, Christian education, and Ethics classes, the Engineering Apprenticeship students are given the opportunity to engage in the larger discussion of what it means to live life well, to seek happiness, and to be a good engineer.

It is hard to believe that it is nearly the fourth week of program. Already the Engineering Apprenticeship students have designed and prototyped four projects, covering the disciplines of civil, environmental, and electrical engineering. As the girls continue to develop in both virtue and technical skill, this blog will serve as a bridge to bind these two foundational elements of the Metro Engineering Apprenticeship experience.

Shaelynn M. Heffernan

Engineering Apprenticeship T.A., 2017