PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOEING COMPANY
“Through Great Minds in STEM, we’re able to reach these kids and their parents early enough and make them aware of what they need to do to attain these careers,” added Lopez. Throughout its long tenure in Huntington Beach, Boeing has worked hand-in-hand with the Chamber of Commerce for 50 years. “We became members of the Chamber before the facility was even completed,” Lopez points out. “Today, Boeing remains a key member of the Chamber and a primary sponsor of the Chamber’s Annual Gala, its Economic Conference, ever-expanding Green Expo, and Annual Business and Leadership Awards.” The world has certainly changed in the 50 years since Boeing arrived in Huntington Beach, but the vision President Kennedy articulated in the inspiring speech in 1962 seem as relevant today as it was then. pipe-dream. The next day we take over the school’s gym and we do projects together with the fifth graders. We work with computers. We design things. We bring in people to act as role models. The impression we leave with these kids is that a career in
engineering is both fun and attainable. ” Lopez adds that it’s a difficult problem as students need to get on the right career track early. Parents and students need to make the right choices in sixth and seventh grade for some STEM careers.
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Our challenges may be different, but our commitment must remain the same— “We chose to do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.”
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