Engineering Students Reach Out to Los Angeles Area Youth

Date: February 17, 2004
Contact: Marlys Amundson ( marlysa@support.ucla.edu )
Phone: 310-206-0540

Earlier this year, the student chapter of the Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists (SOLES) brought more than 130 high school students to campus for a series of events designed to encourage them to attend college.

This egg drop team is confident its egg is in good hands.

Students from Crenshaw, Dorsey, Hamilton, Morningside and Westchester high schools visited the campus in February for Higher Learning Day.

Co-hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Higher Learning Day included a student panel offering perspectives on academics, college life, and engineering, a visit to the UCLA Visualization Portal, an overview and demonstration of a materials science research project, a University of California application workshop, and campus tours. The day ended with an egg drop competition in which teams of students built protective structures for eggs that they dropped from the top of Boelter Hall.

Like many of the organization’s members, fifth-year mechanical engineering major Griselda Munoz, president of SOLES, has been involved in the organization since her freshman year.

“I’m very proud of everything we do. Our outreach efforts are really important and very successful,” she said.

SOLES sponsors two other major outreach activities each year: Youth Motivation Day for elementary students and Women in Science and Engineering for female high school students in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties. The three events reach nearly 600 Los Angeles area students, exposing them to career options in engineering and the sciences that they may not otherwise consider.

Students look up in anticipation during egg drop.

“The demonstrations and panel give the high school students a better idea of what college is really about,” noted SOLES treasurer Efren Vasquez, who organized the Higher Learning Day activities. “They might hear similar things from counselors and teachers, but it means more coming from students at UCLA.”

The UCLA chapter of SOLES, established in 1978, is dedicated to promoting engineering as a career option for Latino students and others from traditionally underrepresented groups. The organization, which has approximately 70 active members, receives guidance and support from the School’s Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity.

Despite recent state budget cuts, SOLES is able to continue its outreach efforts through financial support from companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, ChevronTexaco, General Motors, Qualcomm and many other local industries.

UCLA’s chapter was honored last year as the national chapter of the year by their umbrella organization, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.