Career Tech Engineering Academy News

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June 2023

News for students, families and friends

We Celebrate the Class of 2023

For the past two rigorous and rewarding years, the following Engineering Academy seniors poured time and energy into their educations and prepared for success in what's next for each of them. Our staff and guidance board members celebrate their many accomplishments and look forward to following their progess. Congratulations Class of 2023!

Dannie Arnold

Traverse City West Sr. HS

Michigan State University

Mechanical Engineering

Aiden Cage

Traverse City Central HS

Stony Brook University

Physics

Spencer Cobb

Traverse City Central HS

Michigan Tech University

Engineering

Isaac Deneau

Grand Traverse Academy

Northwestern Michigan College +

Michigan Tech University

Mechanical Engineering

Garret Ensor

Buckley Community School

Northwestern Michigan College +

Marine Technology

Simon Mackin

Traverse City Central HS

Moving forward/undecided

Alex MacPherson

Traverse City Central HS

Purdue University

Engineering

Adyn McHugh

Buckley Community School

Northwestern Michigan College +

Marine Technology

Drew Pavwoski

Grand Traverse Academy

Northwestern Michigan College

Physics

Ethan Schwabe

Grand Traverse Academy

Michigan Tech University

Electrical Engineering

Anna Thayer

Elk Rapids High School

Northwestern Michigan College +

Michigan Tech University

Mechanical Engineering

Jack Thayer

Elk Rapids High School

Northwestern Michigan College +

Michigan Tech University

Mechanical Engineering

Get an Edge with Engineering Academy

Career Tech Engineering Academy is a trailblazer for high school STEM education. Students attend our award-winning two-year program for its high level academics and hands-on engineering experiences. They are rewarded with a rigorous education, motivated student culture and stellar opportunities in college and career. Learn more!

There's Still Time to Apply

There's still time for rising high school juniors and seniors to apply to Engineering Academy for 2023-24!

Engineering Academy New Student Application

Team Training

Thanks to SMI, Bay Motors Products and RJG Inc. for hosting student teams this year! These companies support students while they learn about engineering, manufacturing and continuous improvement through problem-solving. At SMI, the team focused on Single Minute Exchange of Dies and brainstormed ideas to improve the changeover process for one of the company's newest lines in the Aerospace Division.

Startup Week Winners

For the second year in a row, Engineering Academy students won the High School Pitch competition during May's Startup Week. Pictured right, Simon Mackin, Spencer Cobb and Isaac Deneau presented their Manufacturing Workcell. Team "Wok-Cell" designed and built a robotic stir fry entrée preparing device. This is the same project that earned them the Gold Award at NRC. Check out the Record-Eagle story about it!

Honoring Tim Wheatley

After his 25-year career as an

instructor for Career Tech, Tim Wheatley is retiring! He has brought knowledge and enthusiasm to Engineering Academy and his input spurred challenging coursework that has earned widespread respect. Thanks to Tim, students are introduced to valuable opportunities and are well-prepared for the future and poised for many open doors.

Mark Your Calendars! GTAMC Golf Outing

The annual Grand Traverse Area Manufacturing Council (GTAMC) golf outing is Friday, Sept. 29. Proceeds benefit Engineering Academy's robotics program. This event brings in thousands of dollars in support of education, collaboration and the local economy. Visit makegreatthings.org for information.

Longtime Competitors at National Robotics Challenge

Started in 1986, the National Robotics Challenge (NRC) is the longest running competition of its kind, and Engineering Academy students have been participating since 2000. This year, they took home gold, silver and bronze!

Leading into the April 13-15 event in Marion, Ohio, Engineering Academy students spent the entire semester planning and building robots to compete against peers from 38 high schools and 17 colleges in 14 states and Puerto Rico. All together, NRC hosted 426 robots in 13 events. Sponsored by Honda, the annual competition aims to expand the talents of students in science, technology, engineering and math. Get the details here

Manufacturing Workcell Wins Gold Award

The Manufacturing Workcell team won an NRC Gold Award. Team members were seniors Spencer Cobb (Traverse City Central), Isaac Deneau (Grand Traverse Academy) and Simon Mackin (TC Central). The team’s workcell prepares fresh, customized stir fry entrees. It collects orders via a touchscreen and transfers ingredients with a mechanical gripper from 3D-printed refrigerator trays onto a cooking surface. The surface is prepared with oil and sauce dispensed by pumps, and the food is stirred during cooking with 3D-printed spatulas. The finished meal is plated and pushed out of the apparatus for a customer to retrieve. See the video presentation of the workcell

Sumo Robot Wins Silver

Senior team members Dannie Arnold (Traverse City West Senior High School), Alex MacPherson (TC Central) and Jack Thayer (Elk Rapids) won a Silver Award for their Sumo Robot. They designed and built a self-propelled, autonomous robot that forces another sumo robot outside a competition ring.

Bot Ball Wins Bronze

Bot Ball team members were juniors Preston Breitmeyer (Buckley), Timmie “Kai” Collins (Mancelona) and Luke Rasmussen (Traverse City Christian School). They designed, constructed, programmed and operated a battery-powered robot for a ball collection game. In total, eight Career Tech teams participated in the Bot Ball category.

Rescue Robot Teams

The two Engineering Academy Rescue Robot teams encountered operating issues during competition and did not place. Their troubleshooting and persistence to stay in the competition will likely stick with the seniors Adyn McHugh (Buckley), Anna Thayer (Elk Rapids), Drew Pavwoski (Grand Traverse Academy), Aiden Cage (TC Central), Garret Ensor (Buckley) and Ethan Schwabe (Grand Traverse Academy).

MTU Scholarships Awarded

Engineering Academy seniors Spencer Cobb and Ethan Schwabe have earned Michigan Technological University (MTU) scholarships for $1,000 annually. Congratulations to these students on their successful completion of Engineering Academy and acceptance at MTU!

Engineering Academy students are eligible for a $1,000 annual renewable scholarship at MTU. The MTU Partner Pathway Award requires that students successfully complete two years at Engineering Academy and enroll at MTU as first-year students. Career Tech and MTU partnered in 2020 to expand learning and exploration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Northwest Education Services

Career Tech Engineering Academy

880 Parsons Road, Traverse City, MI 49686

Tel. 231.922.6273 | NorthwestEd.org