Student Success Outreach
Over the past academic year, the College has expanded its outreach efforts to local and regional middle and high schools and area community colleges through providing information sessions and tours for students, teachers, and guidance personnel, and participation in career days and other events across our community. Pictured left are CECS Professional Advisor Sarah Alsobrooks, Masters student in Electrical Engineering Charles Wheeler, and Masters student in Engineering Management and Technology Maryam Ghorashi as they shared information with students at Fort Oglethorpe High School’s Career Day. By expanding visits to area schools to include at least one visit per week, the College seeks to provide information about the various programs offered through CECS curricula, enhance recruitment of students, and raise awareness of the career opportunities for students in engineering and computer science. Want CECS to come to your school, community group, or business to share information about programs and more? Contact Julie David or request a tour.
Lab Dedication
On Thursday, May 11, CECS dedicated its Associated General Contractors (AGC) of East Tennessee Construction Lab. (picture attached) Built with a $150,000 donation from the AGC, the lab provides a space for hands-on experiment for undergraduate and graduate students in the College’s Construction Management degree programs. The undergraduate program, established in 2007, was the first four-year undergraduate degree in construction management offered in Tennessee. In 2010, the program was extended to graduate students. AGC of East Tennessee and other local construction firms helped supply the lab with software programs valued at over $425.000. There are currently more than 100 construction management students enrolled at the college and over 100 students have already graduated from the programs in the last decade. Pictured on the right, Misters Tuder, Lail, Raines, and Ferguson also serve as members of the College’s Advisory Board Steering Committee.
Community Outreach
What’s the best way for CECS engineers, computer scientists, and technologists to learn about the needs and problems of a community, and how they can effectively meet those needs and solve those problems? Go out from the walls of the Engineering, Math and Computer Science Building and into the community.
That’s exactly what our students are doing. Through a partnership with the Hamilton County Schools, several of our Computer Science students are working with area elementary and middle school educators and students both in the classroom and behind the scenes. When area teachers indicated that they needed assistance with teaching their students coding, the newly formed, CECS student group, Girls in Computer Science, stepped up to help. Under the leadership of CS student Grace McPherson, the CES students are supporting teachers in their work in teaching programming and coding. CS student and CECS Ambassador and Community Service Intern Keith Hollingsworth is also working with the Office of the Assistant Superintendent of the Hamilton County Schools on a project focused on data analytics to address the need for concrete data regarding school infrastructure needs.
In addition, the CECS Student Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), under the mentorship of Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Raga Ahmed, once again sponsored a workshop for area high school students focused on preparation for the ACT test. With over 60 students from 7 area high schools, this year’s ACT Workshop was very successful and follows in our NSBE chapter’s tradition of community service.
Send out an “all points bulletin” for help with a good cause, and you can count on the CECS Civil Engineers and Construction Management Students to respond. With the help of CECS Advisory Board Steering Committee member Mr. Roger Tuder, the College learned that the Greater Chattanooga Area Food Bank was in need of a mini-face lift. Under the leadership of Civil Engineering Student and former US Navy Veteran, Jarred Magourik, a team of CECS students from those disciplines volunteered their Saturday to literally paint the Food Bank red. Jarred and other team members hope to expand the College’s community service efforts next year to include more students from all majors, plus CECS faculty and staff, who will be encouraged to donate their sweat equity and give up a Saturday to help one of Chattanooga’s not for profit agencies during a coordinated work day.
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