{"id":4415,"date":"2013-02-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4415"},"modified":"2014-03-10T18:17:27","modified_gmt":"2014-03-11T01:17:27","slug":"engineered-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4415","title":{"rendered":"Engineered for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is one of the first questions Ed Ware asks his computer engineering students at Dos Pueblos High<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A software engineering department manager at Raytheon for 23 years, Ware offers students a view of engineering from the workplace, rather than the classroom. With the support of his employer, Ware spends three mornings a week allowing students to “try on engineering and see if it’s something they really like.”<\/p>\n

Clearly engineering is something Ware really likes.<\/p>\n

“A rewarding part is being able to take a subject matter that I love and convey it to somebody else through teaching,” said Ware, who is beginning his second year with DPHS’ Engineering Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Ed is an unbelievably fantastic teacher,” said Dos Pueblos principal David Cash<\/a>. “He knows students well and relates well to them.”<\/p>\n

It’s selfish really, said Ware, the father of two daughters (one at DPHS and the other at Goleta Valley Junior High).<\/p>\n

“I enjoy being on campus, especially when I have a daughter … I think we’re a lot closer. I understand what her life is like … and she’s not ashamed of me,” he laughed.<\/p>\n

“It’s just been a great partnership all around,” said Cash.<\/p>\n

The idea for the engineering academy started about four years ago. An essential part of getting funding for the program was being able to demonstrate active partners in the business community. Raytheon — which had already adopted DPHS through the county Partners In Education Program — was the first business the school went to talk to, said Cash.<\/p>\n

Raytheon responded by getting involved in the engineering academy in a big way.<\/p>\n

“It’s just a perfect avenue for us,” said spokesman Ron Colman. “Our big community involvement push is math and science education. This is a great way for us to impact the community via the schools, also a great way for us to, in effect, recruit future employees.”<\/p>\n

Ware described his teaching experience as being very rewarding.<\/p>\n

“I love the old Wide World of Sports ‘the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat’ slogan (as an analogy for) watching the students with their first project,” he said.<\/p>\n

When students start his class, “they’re great end users,” said Ware. “But they don’t know what’s inside the box, how it works, or what’s behind the screen.”<\/p>\n

In his last class Ware had the students tear apart a computer to really understand what the CPU is.<\/p>\n

“We learned how to program, we learned the language of computers,” said senior Karla Ortiz, who is participating in the engineering academy for her second year.<\/p>\n

Raytheon views the program as a good way to light the imaginations of students, such as women and minorities, who wouldn’t always be exposed to engineering opportunities.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s an awesome program because I think a lot of girls didn’t know that much about computer networking,” said Ortiz, whose father is an engineer.<\/p>\n

Ortiz particularly enjoyed a field trip to Ware’s office. “It was a really great experience to see how the environment works at Raytheon,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ortiz was also a fan of the guest speakers.<\/p>\n

“He brought this girl engineer named Candy (software engineer Candy Lou) into class. It’s a really great program because it’s advocating for girls that ‘hey, it’s not just a guy thing,'” said Ortiz.<\/p>\n

“I give them a thumbs up for Raytheon to actually put that program out there,” said Ortiz, who is considering a career in engineering or medicine.<\/p>\n

And when Ware grows up?<\/p>\n

“I think I want to be a software engineer,” he said.<\/p>\n

Originally published in South Coast Beacon<\/a>\u00a0(2003)<\/h6>\n

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