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The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

Aspiring engineers get beneficial opportunity

The upcoming event “Visualize and Achieve: The Engineering Journey” is intended to benefit aspiring engineers by connecting them with professionals in the industry.

The informal event will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 15 in and around the BC Forum. Neff Aguilera, a 25-year-old mechanical engineer major, is organizing the free congregation and the culinary arts program is catering with free finger food for all.

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Professional attire isn’t required, but preferred because there will be speakers from businesses like Raytheon, the major American Defense contractor and industrial corporation.

“You can network for free with CEO’s of different companies,” Aguilera said. “It’s going to have a good impact not just for us, but for the schools as well. Starting to do events like this can get students involved that want to become engineers but don’t know how.”

Aguilera has reached out to the community by becoming the president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers this year at City College. The SHPE is a national organization that has a chapter here on campus with about 20 members who will be attending the event.

The organization consists of members majoring in mechanical, aerospace, petroleum, computer science, electrical and civil engineering. The club helps students with scholarships, internships and letters of recommendation.

“Living in a small community, it’s important to help bring the people together who are interested because if they don’t have the guidance, they will fall through the cracks,” Aguilera said.

The City College chapter has helped under privileged minorities by setting up various workshops that expose the students to the competitive field of engineering.

The upcoming affair will be approximately an hour and a half. The first 45 minutes will be an open informal meeting giving the students a chance to speak with the professionals outside the forum while grubbing on the delectable treats.

The second 45 minutes will take place inside the forum with the panel of professionals presenting on their particular trade and a question session following. This will give students a chance to hear from the engineers they didn’t get a chance to talk to outside.

Today, there are over 135 student chapters with 37 professional chapters across the country. This year, City Colleges chapter was rated one of the top 20 clubs in the nation for the impact on its community. 

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