By: Dr. Paula Wilhite
The 5th Annual Engineering Roundtable at Northeast Texas Community College was held on Friday, February 2, 2018 in the Whatley Center Foyer on campus.† Since 2014, this event has become an annual opportunity for both students who are currently enrolled in the NTCC engineering program and students from area high schools who are interested in the field of engineering. Diamond C Trailers of Mt. Pleasant generously sponsored part of this year?s roundtable with a $500 donation.
Dr. Ron Clinton, President of NTCC, gave the opening welcome to everyone in attendance including engineers, students, sponsors, and other guests.† Governor Bill Ratliff, NTCC Board of Trustees and civil engineer, followed with opening remarks about the field of engineering.
Leslie Brown, P.E., LEED AP who is the Senior Mechanical Engineer for Baird, Hampton & Brown in Fort Worth was the keynote speaker.† Twenty five years ago, he and two partners founded a mid-size consulting firm providing MEP, civil engineering and land surveying services with offices in three Texas cities. He holds a Professional Engineer?s license in Texas and has been licensed in 39 other states. He is also LEED certified. Primarily involved with designing heating, air conditioning, plumbing and fire protection systems for commercial, industrial, institutional, healthcare and government facilities, Les spends 40% of his work week as Manager of the Facilities Planning group for Missionary Tech Team (MTT), a non-profit ministry organization in Longview, Texas, that designs facilities for Christian schools, camps, churches, hospitals, and other ministry organizations in the U.S. and overseas.† He spoke about how he chose engineering as a career, his journey to earn the required qualifications, and why he wants to encourage and help others to pursue the same profession.
The following recipients for the 2018 Wilhite scholarships were announced:† Chesney Davis, a sophomore petroleum engineering major, and Daniel Hernandez, a freshman mechanical engineering major.† Dr. Kevin Rose, NTCC Interim Vice President for Instruction, then admonished students to follow their passion and aggressively pursue their educational goals and dreams.† Roger Farr, an adjunct engineering faculty member and president of Principled Living, LLC, led the opening session ?Let?s Get Started?.† He led the attendees in a discussion of the attributes and true need for grit as described in Angela Duckworth?s book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.† Students assessed their current level of ?grit? to increase their awareness of their potential for outstanding achievements.
During lunch, the students heard the recorded testimonies of following three NTCC graduates who have transferred to earn undergraduate degrees in engineering:
- Isidoro Hernandez, Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University ? College Station
- Corey Fyfe, Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana
- Laney Jordan, Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University - Commerce
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In addition, the following engineers gave a brief overview of their respective universities? engineering program:
- Jennifer Hicks Scott, P.E., Chemical Engineer, Recruiter/Advisor, College of Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler
- Dr. Brent Donham, Electrical Engineer, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University-Commerce
- Dr. Gary Stading, Chemical Engineer, Dean of the College of Business, Engineering, and Technology, Texas A&M University-Texarkana
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To close the luncheon program, Kenny Irizarry, Professor of Engineering, followed with additional information about the transfer program in engineering at NTCC.† In particular, he talked about the department?s 3-D printer that was recently purchased with a generous donation from Dr. Cynthia Brown of Mt. Pleasant.
The following guest engineers led small group discussions by discussing their college experience and careers as professional engineers:
- Tim Berry, Civil Engineer, Texas Department of Transportation
- Leslie R. Brown, P.E, Principal & Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Baird-Hampton-Brown
- Glen Calvert, P.E., General Manager, Priefert?s Complex Designs, Priefert?s Manufacturing
- Kenneth Calvert, P.E., Petroleum Engineer, Retired
- Patrick Carter, Electrical Engineer, Distinguished Lecturer, Texas A&M University-Commerce
- Kevin Chumbley, P.E., Project Manager of Public Works for the City of Longview
- Clint Collier, Mechanical Engineer, Priefert Manufacturing
- Dr. Brent Donham, Electrical Engineer, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University-Commerce
- Roger D. Farr, M.S. Ch.E, Chemical Engineer, NTCC Adjunct Faculty Member Engineering, President of Principled Living, LLC.
- Kenneth L. Irizarry, P.E., M.S., REM, Industrial Engineer, Professor of Engineering, Northeast Texas Community College
- Lee Jordan, Mechanical Engineer, Priefert Manufacturing
- Tracy Metzger, Mechanical Engineer, Director of Business Development Structural Products, Priefert Steel
- Dr. Gary Stading, Chemical Engineer, Dean of the College of Business, Engineering, and Technology, Texas A&M University-Texarkana
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Sixty-five of the approximate 100 attendees were students of the NTCC engineering program and the following high schools:† Mt. Pleasant High School, Winnsboro High School, Pittsburg High School, Mt. Vernon High School, Daingerfield High School, and Ore City High School.† To maximize the students? experience at the roundtable, a master schedule paired students with the most appropriate engineer according to areas of interest for each session.
Brandon Wilkes, a student at Pittsburg High School commented,†?I really enjoyed the program that gave me much insight on what I want to do in the future.?† †Vicky Sinclair, a counselor at Pittsburg High School who sponsored PHS students to attend, sent her comments, ?An amazing day!!!† What an awesome event!† Kudos to NTCC for providing this experience for our students!?
Dalton Crosson, a sophomore engineering student at NTCC majoring in mechatronics, said, ?I have never seen a school that wants a student to succeed more than NTCC.† The Engineering Roundtable, the professors, and the overall support of everyone at NTCC has given me everything that I could ask or hope for in my first two years of college."
Chesney Davis, a sophomore petroleum engineering major added, ?The Engineering Roundtable is a great way to understand what real world engineers do on a daily basis.† Having the NTCC student table was a great advantage for the high school students to hear how to succeed from two NTCC sophomore students? perspective.
Leivy Zuniga, a sophomore architectural engineering major also spoke highly of the program by adding, ??a great event that helped me connect with universities and learn about their engineering programs.† Talking to actual engineers gave me more knowledge and understanding of what I can look forward to when I reach my goal of a career in engineering.?
For more information about the NTCC Engineering Program of Study, contact Kenneth Irizarry, P.E., (kirizarry@ntcc.edu), Professor of Engineering, Mark Ellermann, (mellermann@ntcc.edu) Instructor of Physics, or Dr. Paula Wilhite (pwilhite@ntcc.edu), Division Chair of Mathematics, Physics, & Engineering.
