It’s never too early to start gathering information and thinking about your future. That’s the message J. Taylor Finley Middle School guidance counselors are trying to impress upon the students in the building.
This same philosophy is the impetus behind Finley’s Career Café initiative. It brings professionals from a variety of fields and backgrounds into the school’s large group instruction room (as the auditorium is known) to meet with students and discuss potential career paths during lunch periods.
This week’s Career Café featured Matthew Emigholz of the US Army Corps of Engineers. An engineer himself, he spoke to Finley students about the different facets of engineering and what each of the distinctive areas focuses on.
Utilizing photos and graphs during his presentation in the LGI, Mr. Emigholz described how engineers construct buildings and explained the details that enter into planning and creating the projects that he works on, which primarily occur on military bases. Time was set aside for the Finley students to ask questions, of which there were many.
Students learned about the educational background engineers require and the skills they need to possess. Naturally, a good grasp of mathematics is a must for any type of engineer.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approximately 37,000 dedicated civilians and soldiers delivering engineering services to customers in more than 130 countries worldwide,” according to the organization’s website. “With environmental sustainability as a guiding principle, our disciplined Corps team is working diligently to strengthen our nation’s security by building and maintaining America’s infrastructure and providing military facilities where our service members train, work and live. We are also researching and developing technology for our war fighters while protecting America’s interests abroad by using our engineering expertise to promote stability and improve quality of life. We are energizing the economy by dredging America’s waterways to support the movement of critical commodities and providing recreation opportunities at our campgrounds, lakes and marinas. And by devising hurricane and storm damage reduction infrastructure, we are reducing risks from disasters.”