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STEM
Page 18 Electronic Edition: www.teachingtodaymn.com
“Soaring to New Heights”
Aerospace Engineering at Mountain Iron-Buhl High School
The main topics covered in Aerospace Carlson, a sophomore, thinks it is a fantastic
Engineering include aircraft components, airfoil way for students to see if they are interested in a
design, flight dynamics, air traffic control, flight career in aviation or engineering. Fellow sopho-
controls, flight simulation, rocket design, and more Shalen Mogensen says that she enjoys the
rocket simulation. Students gain experience in hands-on projects in the class, particularly build-
these topics with advanced technologies such as ing airplanes. Finally, sophomore Izaiah Alto
Aery (airfoil, fuselage design, and simulation), says, “This class helped me get interested in avia-
Fusion 360 (for CAD design), Open Rocket (for tion, and I plan to pursue a career in the field after
rocket design and simulation), XPlane (a flight high school.” The experiences of these students
simulator), and Vernier (for data collection). reflect the real impact of Aerospace Engineering.
In addition to using these innovative tools, In conclusion, the Aerospace Engineering
students create a variety of projects such as Balsa course at Mountain Iron-Buhl High School offers
Gliders, rockets, and paper airplanes. These proj- students the opportunity to explore careers in avi-
ects allow students to experiment with airfoil ation and engineering. Additionally, with the use
design and learn valuable life skills like team- of hands-on projects, students gain skills that go
work, working within constraints, responsibility, beyond the classroom. The excitement from both
accountability, and critical thinking, which are Mr. Jesch and students in the class shows the
important no matter what their future careers are. course’s ability to inspire future careers, as seen
When asked what excites him the most by students going on to higher education in avia-
about teaching Aerospace Engineering, Mr. Jesch tion. By providing this opportunity for students
stated, “What excites me about Aerospace Engi- to explore careers in high school, MIB is giving
neering is that the students get to explore careers its students the skills they need to be successful
Shay Busch Engineering, a course for 10th-12th grade stu- they would not usually be exposed to.” Some stu- in their future endeavors.
Mountain Iron-Buhl High School dents which explores the fundamentals of air and dents who have taken this course have even gone
Mountain Iron-Buhl High School offers space flight, as well as orbital mechanics. The on to enroll in aviation programs, demonstrating
a variety of elective courses designed for stu- course is taught by Jeremy Jesch, the school’s the impact of this course.
dents to experience different career paths before STEM instructor, and it provides hands-on expe- Current students in the class are enthusi- www.mib.k12.mn.us
graduating. One standout class is Aerospace riences in a high-tech learning environment. astic about the opportunities it provides. Magan
Eloisa’s Journey from BHS robotics to Electrical Engineering
2021 Graduate Brings NASA Experience Back to BHS as a Robotics Mentor
back to that,” Carrasco said. “The whole goal of are juniors now and they’re getting into prep for
teaching the next generation of students is so they college already and they’re interested in STEM-
become smarter than you and that’s really proven related careers. Another student went into the
true. My students have picked up on a lot and same program I’m in now because we were able
made it to state even earlier than we did.” to have that conversation about how this expe-
Carrasco’s BHS teams won plenty of rience translates into opportunities available on
awards and made multiple trips to state, but her campus,” she said. “Robotics helped them figure
high school robotics experience wasn’t just about that out.”
programming, design and engineering. She led Robotics helped Carrasco figure herself
the team’s documentation and outreach work and out, as well, sending her down a path that led
also learned valuable skills related to teamwork to an interest in the STEM field and ultimately
and communicating she still uses every day. a degree in electrical engineering. Experiences
“Robotics really encompasses everything,” in that program refined her interest even more
she said. “Within that one Pathway, you’re using toward biomedical engineering, specifically
communication skills, learning how to talk about improving prosthetic devices, and developing
your robot, thinking through the process, engi- new transportation technologies in the aerospace
neering, talking through a lot of problem-solving industry.
and learning how to talk about what you’re doing. “Pathways kind of helped me narrow down
Those things come up pretty often.” what niche of a field I wanted to get into,” she
As a leader in the robotics lab, Carrasco con- said. “My emphasis has pretty much always been
siders herself to be fairly hands-off, preferring to in hands-on experiences, in getting to actually do
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 University of Minnesota in the spring with an let students work through problems themselves things. That’s what I’ve found most helpful at
Eloisa Carrasco was a seventh-grader in Electrical Engineering degree and has already for a while before stepping in to assist. As a each step. Each step has helped prepare me and
the fall of 2015 when, at the encouragement of gained valuable work experience through two mentor, however, she takes a proactive approach, move me forward to the next one.”
her parents, she attended an information session internships at NASA’s Langley Research Center actively connecting students with valuable oppor- Learn more at pathways.isd191.org.
about the District 191 robotics program. in Virginia. tunities in the engineering field, fostering their
She decided to join the team and, nearly 10 “The reason I wanted to come back as growth and inspiring them to future careers in
years later, she’s still a part of Burnsville FIRST soon as I graduated is because it’s a really good STEM. She does similar work at the U of M
Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics. As a mentor, program and it provided me with experiences where she’s president of the student chapter of the
she supports the next generation of students in that still help me today, and the volunteers we Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. www.isd191.org
the program that helped set her on her academic have and the people that mentor are the reason “Some of the students who are on my team
and career path. Eloisa will graduate from the were able to do anything, so I wanted to help give