Encounter Engineering Exposes Freshmen to Future in Engineering
08/26/2015
More than 300 engineering students got a taste of college life a week before school started as part of the annual Encounter Engineering (E2) bridge program.
Encounter Engineering (E2), held Aug.14 through 19, offers engineering freshmen a head start in math, physics and engineering design, as well as an opportunity to meet upperclassmen, faculty and industry partners. The camp is also a chance for current students to act as team leaders and to develop their communication and leadership skills.
鈥淭he student team and group leaders provide the true mentorship to the incoming freshmen, and they will always be the linchpin of the camp experience,鈥� said Sarah Jones, associate director of diversity for the College and one of the camp鈥檚 coordinators.
Bhavya Ramachandran, civil engineering sophomore, explained her most important duty as a student team leader is to motivate her group.
鈥淭his is my first year volunteering with the camp,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing a team leader, you鈥檙e here to help the freshmen as much as you can, so it鈥檚 like being their second mom, almost.鈥�
In fact, 鈥渟ome of them call me 鈥榤other,鈥欌�� she said, laughing.
This was chemical engineering sophomore Sarah Wannamaker鈥檚 second time volunteering with E2. She was leader to a team of six incoming students, each of them sharing the same academic program.
鈥淚t sort of allows you to help more, when you all are the same major,鈥� Wannamaker explained. 鈥淚 have five freshmen and one is a transfer student. It鈥檚 much easier to give advice on professors and what to expect, since we鈥檙e all in chemical engineering.鈥�
In addition to the academic edge the camp offers, Encounter Engineering gives freshmen access to socialize with like-minded individuals.
鈥淢y group from last year was sort of quiet, honestly,鈥� Wannamaker said. 鈥淭his year, everyone was so active and talkative and social. They loved the design project and really enjoyed working together.鈥�
This year, E2 hosted 340 participants, 60 team leaders that worked directly with the incoming freshmen and 27 higher-level leaders. The inaugural camps in 2007 and 2008 hosted 45 students and five mentors.
Each camp is sure to include exercises in team building, communication, and hands-on design each year, said Jones, who worked directly in the planning and coordination of the initial camp. This year鈥檚 camp featured a design competition that was developed around a Mars mission narrative.
鈥淭he design competition had three distinct tasks: build a supply transport to carry items across a short course without human assistance, create an unloading system at the delivery spot operated by the 鈥榗olonist鈥� who can鈥檛 directly touch the supplies and develop a means of delivering the supplies to storage,鈥� Jones said.
Each team and task was evaluated on parameters that included speed, amount of supplies transported or transferred, autonomy of the vehicle and style.
鈥淚 love this camp,鈥� said Anna Lucchesi, a chemical engineering freshman. 鈥淵ou and your team get a problem, and then you get a couple of hours a day with your team to solve that problem. It鈥檚 very immersive.鈥�
Jon Knutson, petroleum engineering freshmen and Lucchesi鈥檚 team member, agreed.
鈥淭he camp is cool but also very informative,鈥� Knutson said. 鈥淭his is actually what it will be like during our time here.鈥�
Overall, E2 offers community building within the College, and it introduces university-level academic content and knowledge to incoming students.
鈥淭he students are definitely exposed to a lot throughout the camp,鈥� said Nicholas Totaro, Tech Time and Logistics group leader. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all to prepare them for their future here.鈥�
###
This story was written by M.B. Humphrey. For more information, contact camp coordinator Sarah Jones at sjones@lsu.edu or (225) 578-5705. For more photos taken during Encounter Engineering, visit the Facebook page:.