Students shadow Chocolate Bayou engineers at Ascend-PLTW Day
Five high school graduates interested in pursuing science and engineering careers got a firsthand look at how they can apply those skills in the workplace during a recent visit to Ascend’s Chocolate Bayou site.
The Chocolate Bayou team invited the local students to tour the plant and participate in job shadowing in partnership with Project Lead the Way, also known as PLTW. The all-day event was dubbed “Ascend-PLTW Day.”
PLTW is a national organization that encourages K-12 students to consider and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math through its various programs. It also works with STEM companies to provide opportunities for students to interact with people in those fields.
The organization reached out to local companies in Alvin, Texas, including Ascend, at a community meeting earlier this year. Roberto Carmona, mechanical reliability site lead, was one of the CHB team members who attended the meeting and together they brought the idea to site leaders.
“We thought it was a great way to inspire students as well as introduce them to Ascend,” said Carmona, a member of the event’s planning committee. “All these kids have ties to the community. They are potential future employees and we want them to consider Ascend as a good place to start their careers.”
The students received a general overview of the plant as they toured the control rooms, fabrication shop and control lab. They also shadowed mechanical engineers, manufacturing engineers and processor operators, and had lunch with the plant’s co-ops and interns.
The eight-hour visit was a positive experience for the students, who recently graduated from Alvin and Manvel high schools in Alvin, Texas, and will attend Texas universities in the fall. They gave it high marks on a survey, with several students saying they had a great time and found the tour informative.
CHB team members are excited about the event’s success. They’re already thinking about how they can make it bigger and better for next year, Carmona said.
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