TOLEDO, Ohio, February 19, 2024 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm, will host 21 local students from Perrysburg and Port Clinton high schools on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, as part of Engineers Week (eWeek). Focused on promoting entry into the engineering profession, eWeek takes place February 18-24, 2024 in locations across the country. EWeek serves to increase the understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. It also helps address the shortage of talent in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers by increasing public dialogue about the need for engineers and other STEM professionals.
Visiting students will get firsthand experience from a team of engineers and technical experts when they spend part of their day at SSOE’s World Headquarters in Toledo, Ohio for the “Engineer for a Day” program. The program will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Students will attend a luncheon at The University of Toledo College of Engineering before traveling to SSOE. While at SSOE, they will have the opportunity to participate in team-building activities, gain insight into different engineering disciplines, and learn what it takes to become an engineer—and potentially a future SSOE employee.
Brad Rowe, SSOE’s Senior Vice President, People & Culture, will provide opening remarks. Next, John Colley, PE, Senior Electrical Engineer, will lead a demonstration on electrical engineering titled “Let’s Build a Motor,” which will expose students to the motor effect and electromagnetism.
The program will then proceed with an activity, “Construct a Building Frame,” led by Kevin Brisbin, BIM/CAD Technical Specialist, and José Arnal de la Peña, Structural Engineering. Using household items, students will divide into groups and be given structural guidelines. When the groups complete their frames, each one will be tested to determine who constructed the most stable structure with a faux seismic test.
To introduce principles of physics, the day will conclude with a “Popsicle Stick Catapult” activity led by Jaclyn Sawasky, Human Resources Generalist, and Emily Bruns, Early Career Recruitment Specialist. Using popsicle sticks and rubber bands, students will be creating catapults and testing out how different weighted items / different angled catapults impact distance and velocity.
During the event, students will also be introduced to SSOE’s Student Co-op / Internship Program. This program provides college students with resume-building experience, a competitive wage, and college credits. Over the past five years, SSOE has hired hundreds of students in our Student Co-op / Internship Program for full-time positions throughout the United States.
In addition to the Engineer for a Day program, SSOE is also a Platinum Sponsor for eWeek. Sponsorship dollars help maintain the programs associated with eWeek, which include defraying the various costs of maintaining all the programs from handouts, Engineer for a Day lunches for students and teachers, administrative costs, speaker fees, scholarships, facilities, and miscellaneous costs.
