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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
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