Society of American Military Engineers visits local HS

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lieutenant Evette Edwards
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Students at Ben Eielson Junior Senior High School learned about engineering Mar. 15 when members of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) spoke about their professions.

SAME members - including civilian Air Force and Army engineers, uniformed Air Force Civil Engineer officers, and those representing private engineer firms in the local area - took time to speak with math, science and vocational education students about what engineers do and the educational paths that lead them to their current professions.

"We talked about how we became interested in engineering and what paths we took educationally to get where we are now," said Captain Jesse White, 354 Civil Engineer Squadron Chief of Project Management. "The speakers were from all over, including an architect from Fairbanks."

SAME connects architects, engineers and builders so they can work for the advancement of knowledge and the rapid mobilization of engineering capabilities, according their charter founded in 1920. A collaboration of military members from Eielson and Fort Wainwright, as well as civilian contractors and local community members, all with a background in architecture, engineering and building gave presentations to the students.

"We shared how engineers make civilized life possible in ways they may not have thought of before and encouraged them to apply themselves as math and science students and also focus on developing effective communication skills," said Second Lieutenant Josh Hager, 354 Civil Engineer Squadron Chief of Operations Support.

After the presentations, students tested their skills by building a model bridge.

For one dollar, students received 15 pieces of wood and 2/3 ounces of wood glue - the only materials allowed for the project. Out of this material, participants constructed a bridge of their own design to be judged based on efficiency, appearance, neatness and accurate specifications.

Students picked up materials from Eielson CE representatives after school, and judging began Mar 25. Some teachers provided the construction materials to their entire class to encourage the project.

"The programs were really good," said Merle Winkelman, a technology teacher at Ben Eielson Junior Senior High School. "The kids were very interested in what was said. It was really neat that [the presenters] stressed mathematics, but said not to stress about it, but to use it when building the bridges. It was interesting to listen to what they had to say."

Teachers tested each bridge during class for efficiency and ability to withstand stress utilizing equipment borrowed from the 354 CES. They added weight to the bridges until they reached their point of failure, or when they broke.

"We did this last year and the students seemed to like it," said Lieutenant Hager. "Our goal is to serve the community we live in by investing in the next generation of potential engineers."