Middle school students exposed to engineering and math at College of Engineering

DETROIT (August 9, 2012) - Detroit-area youth built solar- and battery-powered LEGO cars as part of the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) at the Wayne State University College of Engineering. The summer enrichment project was part of a four-week program that exposed 24 Metro Detroit seventh-grade students to courses in engineering, math, writing and Microsoft technology on Wayne State's campus.

Robbie McCall (left), a student at Detroit Country Day Middle School; Spencer Lee, a student at St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School; and Lauren Godwin, a student at David Ellis Academy West, participated in the DAPCEP enrichment program at the Wayne State University College of Engineering.

According to Patrina Carper, coordinator at the College of Engineering and organizer of the Wayne State program since 2001, DAPCEP is an educational organization that provides state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering and mathematics programming to underrepresented youth. The program's partnership with Wayne State is intended to provide students with academic enrichment in the areas of mathematics, communications skills, computer operations, as well as expose students to engineering and enrichment activities that help them gain a better understanding of engineering and engineering disciplines.

"With this program, students improve their math skills and gain hands-on experience through the engineering courses," Carper said. "The writing course teaches them composition and helps with overall preparation for the seventh grade."

Lauren Godwin, a student at David Ellis Academy West, signed up for the program to broaden her horizons and advance her affinity for engineering and math. 'My favorite part was the math course," Godwin said. "It was taught in interesting ways, outside of a book, like through the use of interactive games."

Spencer Lee, a student at St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School, and Robbie McCall, a student at Detroit Country Day Middle School, saw the program as a way to get ahead in school. Corey Johnson, a senior at Detroit Country Day High School and a student advisor for the program, can attest to this, as he went through DAPCEP himself.

"DAPCEP helped me in math and science and put me ahead of my class," said Johnson. "I became a student advisor to help the next generation of students do the same."

More photos are available on the college's Flickr site.

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 31,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.