College Park Academy Champions Engineering for All

Lt. Governor Miller’s Visit Highlights the Importance of STEM Equity

College Park, MD – June 29, 2023 – Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller recently visited the e4usa classroom at College Park Academy to see firsthand how engineering students are building a better world one project at a time. 

Students come to College Park Academy from across Prince George’s County, winners of the public charter school lottery. Every high school student is enrolled in one of six signature programs. The engineering program has been particularly popular drawing from the e4usa curriculum and UMD’s top faculty and students. Teacher Brendan McCarthy was one of the first e4usa teachers working closely with University of Maryland to pilot the program.

As an engineer herself, Miller was drawn to the state-funded e4usa program that is opening doors for populations traditionally underrepresented in the field. e4usa students explore engineering in society, develop professional skills, and engage in community-focused engineering design experiences, all aimed at helping them see themselves as engineers.

The Lieutenant Governor urged students to help make room for more students, like them, in engineering.

“(Engineering) is an area that needs to be diversified as much as we can. When I first became an engineer, I would walk into the classroom, I would be one of four women in a classroom of 30 men. None of them looked like me and I thought, what am I supposed to do here?

I’m going to tell all of you. You belong in every room and every space that you walk into. Be your authentic self everywhere you go.”

She went on to emphasize the importance of community service,

“We need you to be engaged citizens. We need you to participate in our great country and make opportunities for others.”

Lieutenant Governor Miller heard from the e4usa engineering class about this year’s project with Volunteers for Medical Engineering (VME). Students designed a specialized bike for Jacob, a member of the local community with Down Syndrome. Jacob needed a bike that was easy for him to use, including a remote control brake for his mother, Lynn. VME provides “real world” projects to change the life of people with disabilities in MD.  Check out the project video, here.

University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines also attended the event at College Park Academy. As e4usa’s principal investigator, Pines was instrumental in launching e4usa in 2018 while serving as dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering. 

President Pines emphasized that, 

“Every high school student should take engineering. It enables them to be creative, to solve problems for the public and society, and it empowers them to help us build a STEM workforce. In order to achieve more diversity in engineering, we must offer opportunities for all young people to study it.”