Students Graduate NSWC PHD’s Hands-On Engineering Program with Support for Next Steps

Photo By Dana Rene White | Thirty-four students at the Pre-Engineering Program Graduation Ceremony gather with NSWC PHD Commanding Officer Capt. Ray Acevedo and Deputy Technical Director Vance Brahosky, Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Oxnard Harbor District.  

PORT HUENEME, CA, UNITED STATES

12.23.2019

Story by Teri Carnicelli 

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division

Thirty-four local high school students now have a personal letter of recommendation to the college of their choice from Capt. Rafael “Ray” Acevedo, commanding officer, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD).

That is just one significant advantage toward their futures students from Oxnard Union High School District and Ventura Unified School District received as the most recent graduates of the twice-yearly Pre-Engineering Program (PEP), coordinated through NSWC PHD’s Office Of Technology (OOT) and its STEM program.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, and that’s exactly what the students were exposed to during the program, which is offered in conjunction with Naval Facilities Engineering Command Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) and the Engineering Duty Officer School.

The students were celebrated on Dec. 17 by command staff from NSWC PHD and NAVFAC EXWC, as well as school district officials and family members of the students, who gathered at the Oxnard Harbor District Conference Room.

“We have 2,500 government civilians working at our command and engineering is what we do, in all different disciplines and right in your backyard,” Acevedo told the students at the graduation event. “We hope to have opened your eyes to some of the opportunities available to you in STEM careers. Many of you will go off to other places for college, but some of you will come back because this is where your roots are, where your families are. Tremendous opportunities exist here.”

NSWC PHD has offered PEP since 1998, hosting fall and spring sessions. Ramon Flores, OOT’s STEM program coordinator, has run PEP for the last five years. Thus far, more than 1,250 students have participated in the program, and the most recent group was notable for two reasons: it was the largest group to date, and it included freshmen for the first time.
The high school students gathered once a week after school for just over three months, learning about systems engineering, ocean engineering, coding, cryptography, underway replenishment and environmental engineering.

“When we come together to do our activities, we start in a classroom setting and then do experiential learning with hands-on projects,” Flores explained, adding that the program would not exist without the naval engineers who volunteer their time as instructors after a full day’s work.
The students get mixed into different groups, which also teaches them the four C’s of 21st Century Skills—collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication—a popular learning strategy in today’s educational environment.

Projects ranged from building rockets out of office supplies, to building a water filtration system, to building a speaker, to writing code. The students also were able to tour an active duty ship, having visited USS Kidd (DDG 100) while it was in port at NSWC PHD.

“Some of our students may have already had an interest in an engineering profession, and this program connects them with hands-on opportunities,” said Teresa Telles, coordinator of Work-Based Learning for the Oxnard district. “They get to learn from others already working in the field, and get to go on workplace tours; plus, they earn school credit. The diversity of the program can also help them narrow down their fields of interests.”

Roger Rice, superintendent of the Ventura district, applauded the students for persevering throughout the program, and thanked NSWC PHD for continuing to provide the invaluable experience to students.
“This is an important partnership for us,” he said “We couldn’t do this in the venues we have available in our schools.”

Acevedo also spoke to the importance of the command-community partnership.

“It’s extremely important to this command to be a part of the community that supports us,” he said. “This program is just one of the ways we are engaging youth, by helping them discover how critical the field of engineering is for supporting ships and Sailors of the United States Navy.

“The goal of this program is to inspire your creativity and show you that you are capable of anything, and that the future is yours for the taking.”

• Date Taken: 12.23.2019
• Date Posted: 12.23.2019 19:23
• Story ID: 357162
• Location: PORT HUENEME, CA, US