By Juliana Riverin
Assistant Managing Editor
While most will be enjoying the clear, blue skies this summer, a few Costa students will be studying what actually flies through them.
Juniors Priya Chatwani, Adam Zaun, Shubhayu Bhattacharyay, Ryan Reiff, Michael LoCascio, and Anna O’Connor will be spending their summers interning at Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company.
“I signed up for the Boeing internship because I have a deep interest in aerospace engineering, ” O’Connor said. “I think that the program as a whole is a great move on Boeing’s part to give high school students an early exposure to the engineering industry and field.”
To begin the process, students attended lunch meeting in January with Boeing representative Pat Sandoval. The meeting was held at the College and Career Center, as was the rest of the application process.
“Sandoval does her presentation, but we at the College and Career Center coordinate the entire application process, meaning that we read all the applications, look at the letters or recommendation and end up choosing the participants,” CCC counselor Caryn Ramirez said.
To apply for the program, students had to complete a single-page questionnaire and submit two letters of recommendation written by their teachers. Additionally, the students’ academic performances were taken into account, with a specific focus on science and math performance.
“I wrote Michael a letter of recommendation because I think this program is a great opportunity for him, and other students, to understand what working in engineering really means, which is something kids aren’t exposed to in school,” Costa math teacher Timothy Kelley said.
In order to determine what their individual focus will be during the internship, the participants had to rank eight positions out of 65 possible departments that range from architecture to aerospace engineering. Mentors from Boeing will then choose participants who showed interest in their department.
“I’m thinking about a career in aerospace engineering, so I’m really excited to get real work experience in that field,” LoCascio said. “We don’t know who are mentors are yet, but either way I think that getting to work in a professional environment will help me in college and in the future.”
Certain students already have some experience the field of engineering. O’Connor, along with a group of MCHS juniors and seniors competed in the Northrop Grumman High School Challenge, during which they had to build a remote controlled airship that would navigate an obstacle course.
“For the competition we developed a tail-fin motor so the ship could swim through the air,” O’Connor said. “I love how the entire field involves solving problems like this in new ways, which is something I have always loved doing, and I look forward to learning more about this summer.”
By participating in the internship, students are exposed to the professional world of engineering and are provided with the opportunity to develop real life skills, such as business management or networking, which they do not have access to in school.
“A lot of people say that they want a career in engineering, but a lot of the time they don’t know what that entails,” Chatwani said. “For me this internship is an opportunity to get a real life experience to see how I like it, which is really great.”
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