​
Effects on Other Academics
Hard at Work
Engineering students spend all of their senior year working on their final projects. These students work on their projects in groups of 3-4 for at least one period every school day for the entire year. Even so, because these projects are so intricate, students often spend time out of class as well to finish their projects by the end of the school year.
“We’ve had to stay a little bit after school. Friday we stayed to pump and make some finishing touches.” said senior Sequoia Chamlee.
​
Many projects are so complex they cannot be completed in a single school year.
“This is the only thing I have been working on [in engineering this year]. There are so many aspects and small parts. For example, we have to design every single thing you see on a computer and then manufacture… Everything you see has to be designed and manufactured and there's always iterations being made.” said senior Reese Wahlberg.
Senior Sequoia Chamlee posing with her project. Photographed by Carly Ridenour.
Commitment
In many cases, unfinished projects get passed on to future classes.
“We have been working on [our project] since the beginning of the year… It's been a year long experience, this is just the beginning. A lot of the exhibits you’ll see here have been worked on for like five years almost.” said Sequoia.
Being an engineering student is a big commitment, they are required to take at least one class per semester but many students choose to take more, some even up to three in one semester. While day-to-day engineering does not take away from these students’ other academic classes, pressure increases at the end of the year.
“We’ve kind of ramped up to get ready for the showcase and stuff, we’ve definitely started taking some time out of some [other] classes. [last week] from like noon to six pm we spent working on this.” said senior Reese Hafner.
In addition to the time spent manufacturing these projects, engineering students take time out of their other classes to present their projects to other DP students and community members.
“[We’ve missed class] the whole day [to present]” Said Reese Hafner.
Overall these students dedicate a lot to the DP Engineering program and the quality of their final projects.
“I like to come over here and work on my project and it’s super fun. I’m going into engineering in college so it’s nice to like start to do this a little bit more.” said senior Andrew Hamers.
Senior Reese Wahlberg demonstrating the use of her final engineering project. Photographed by Carly Ridenour.