[Source: Author, Jonathan Chun]
On October 5, 2018, I had the opportunity to go on a field trip with my Engineering class to the College of the Canyons for Manufacturing Day. Manufacturing Day is basically an opportunity to celebrate modern engineering in our world today, and so at the event I attended, representatives from many different companies came to explain their jobs. Employees from important industries like NASA, Boeing, and JPL were present that day, but there were also representatives from many other companies that are located in the Santa Clarita Valley.
[Source: Author, Jonathan Chun]
During the event, I got to experience many hands-on activities that were quite engaging and interactive. One example of a fun activity I enjoyed while there was building my own headphone audio amplifier from scratch and testing it afterwards. I was provided with only the motherboard, the cover, and all of the screws to create my audio amplifier. The process took me about 20 minutes, and I was surprised at how quickly I was able to assemble a functioning product that actually worked pretty well. Along the way, local audio engineers explained what each part did and how the amplifier functioned as a unit. In the end, I was able to listen to some songs with what I created and the audio was very clear. Overall, the experience was fun and satisfying.
Other than hands-on activities, I also got to learn what members of each company did on a day to day basis. Many explained their jobs and the career paths I could take if I decided to work for their companies one day. Many of the workers from the Santa Clarita Valley even graduated from local area high schools.
After attending this event, I was impressed by all of the people there and their jobs in the manufacturing industry. Through this event and my engineering class at school, my eyes were opened to the field of manufacturing. I am inspired by the people I met and hope to pursue a career in engineering for one of these companies in the future!
Jonathan Chun, Grade 9
West Ranch High School
