Career Tech Engineering Academy News

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January 2023

News for students, families and friends

Engineering Academy Puts the E in STEM

It's recruiting season at Engineering Academy, so spread the word to high school sophomores and juniors who want to get the engineering edge. Students interested in learning more about and applying to Engineering Academy are invited to information sessions:

Tuesday, Feb. 21
Wednesday, March 8
Tuesday, April 4

RSVP to Engineering Academy Instructor Tim Wheatley at twheatley@NorthwestEd.org

Info sessions are at 6-7:30 p.m. at Career Tech Engineering Academy, room 159A, 880 Parsons Road,

Traverse City, 49686.

Info Session Flyer

10th Grade Visit Days - Feb. 1 and 2

Feb. 1 and 2 are Career Tech Visit Days for 10th graders. If you haven't already, sign up for a visit with your school counselor. You can meet the Engineering Academy team and tour our classrooms and engineering labs. It's a great way to explore the program and learn how to apply.

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!

The Engineering Academy online application will be available for prospective students beginning in early February. It will be accessible on the Career Tech Engineering Academy

web page.

Junior Roboticians Prepping for Kettering

Career Tech Engineering Academy 11th graders and Robotics & Automation students are teaming up to compete at the Square One event at Kettering University. Square One is an annual innovative vehicle design competition at Kettering's GM Mobility Research Center. The students are busy preparing for the event's mini vehicle design challenge.

Students + Mentors = Growth

Engineering Academy is one Career Tech program that includes one-on-one guidance by industry professionals. Each student is assigned a mentor throughout the two-year program. In 11th grade, the focus is on work ethic; then in 12th grade they dive into specific topics such as the content they are learning in economics class, robotics projects and project management.

The 2022-23 team of mentors is extra special because seven of them are Engineering Academy alumni! All of the mentors are professionals from organizations throughout the Traverse City area who generously spend their time coaching Engineering Academy students to prepare them for college, technical training and careers. In fact, this year Thompson Surgical Instruments has volunteered the largest number of mentors from one company. Other companies who support the mentor program include Kennametal, X-Rite and many more.

Spotlight on Alumni Mentors

Eric Otto (Glen Lake)

Eric is a Mechanical Design Engineer at X-Rite and he enjoys mentoring as a way to help students transition from academic environment to a working environment. As an Engineering Academy student, STEM classes and hands-on learning were particularly engaging for Eric. Some of his highlights included robotics competitions and building a trebuchet for the punkin chuckin contest!

Joel Zemanek (TC West)

Joel works for Rowan Digital Infrastructure as Water Resources Developer and Engineering Contacts Manager. He recalls Engineering Academy as learning with a purpose. He learned to be organized and focused. To be a mentor is a terrific privilege for Joel and a way to encourage students to formulate a plan before they graduate from high school.

Francis Majszak (TC West)

Francis works as a Quality Engineer for Kennametal Inc. in Traverse City. He's glad to share lessons he's learned in his career to help students prepare for what’s ahead and help them reach their goals.

Mike Schmidt (Suttons Bay)

As Senior Design Engineer with CPM Century Extrusion in Traverse City, Mike became a mentor to help young people build technical skills and find happiness along the way. He recalls that his mentor was using the same skills on a daily basis that he was learning in high school.

Above: Engineering Academy and Elk Rapids High School senior Jack Thayer (left) with his mentor Mike Schmidt who is an Engineering Academy (formerly MTA) alum.

Robotics Teams Set to Compete

Engineering Academy seniors are kicking off robotics season in preparation for the National Robotics Challenge in Marion, Ohio in April. The 100% student-built robot competition is a highlight for them as they go head-to-head with other talented students from around the world. Last year, Engineering Academy teams took second place in the Manufacturing Work Cell, Micromouse and Bot Ball divisions. Pictured above, students presented their NRC robot design plans to their peers and industry professionals for feedback and adjustments. Here's a round-up of this year's teams:

Rescue Robot Teams

Two rescue robot teams are in the design process and will soon move on to building the remote controled vehicles which will navigate an obstacle course and rescue four ping pong balls in under three minutes, carefully placing them on a rescue pylon. Each vehicle must climb a ramp, slog through pea gravel and navigate inside an unlit cave in order to gather the balls.

Sumo Robot Team

A three-member sumo robot team is designing and building a fully autonomous, 20 lb. robotic vehicle that must find its opponent using sensors and push it out of the 16' by 16' ring in under three minutes using high-torque motors. Human interaction with the robot is limited to powering it on and off.

Manufacturing Work Cell

The "Wok Cell" team is designing an interface with a user who will choose stir fry ingredients from an input screen to transfer ingredients to a wok and cook them. The components of the cell include a refrigerator, robotic arm and wok. This group will also compete in the TCNewTech student pitch competition.

NRC competition details can be found here.

Grateful for GTAMC Golf Outing Support

Career Tech Engineering Academy is the grateful recipient of a $10,000+ gift from Grand Traverse Area Manufacturing Council (GTAMC). The huge donation was presented to Engineering Academy staff and students from GTAMC's very successful September 2022 golf outing fundraiser. For many years, these industry professionals have supported the Engineering Academy’s award-winning robotics program.

Northwest Education Services

Career Tech Engineering Academy

880 Parsons Road, Traverse City, MI 49686

Tel. 231.922.6273 | NorthwestEd.org