Training the next generation of engineers – UofSC News & Events



[ad_1]



Mandy Elmore realized early in her engineering career that part of her responsibility to the profession was to share her love of engineering, math, and science with the next generation.

She began teaching in the University of South Carolina’s Project Lead the Way summer program, which trains hundreds of educators across the country to better teach science, technology, engineering and Mathematics.

“I became convinced while I was working in manufacturing and as an engineer that if people who were passionate about math, science, engineering – all of those things – if we didn’t teach that and pass it on not that to the next generation, we were going to face some real challenges, ”Elmore says. “So I put my money where I was and went into education.”

She left a lucrative manufacturing job to work at the community college level. She is now the Dean of the Engineering and Industrial Technology Division at Tri-County Technical College, working to prepare students for careers in manufacturing and industry.

“We have students working in the upstate, across the state and around the world,” she says. “But most of our students are going to work or start their own businesses in the upstate.”

To continue her work in academia, Elmore returned to the University of South Carolina, where she earned her BA (1994) and MA (1997) degrees in Engineering, for a Doctorate Level Certificate in Higher Education (2019 ). She also plans to complete a doctorate. in Educational Leadership in South Carolina.

Elmore had yet to complete his bachelor’s degree when a faculty member suggested graduate study at a time when the university’s College of Engineering and Computer Science was one of the few powerful research institutes in the field of hydrogen fuel cells.

“He told me that I had the opportunity to get a PhD, that I would be an asset to the program and that I would be able to participate in cutting-edge research and really contribute to knowledge and development. application of a lot of different things, specifically fuel cells, ”she says.

In senior school, Elmore saw the world from the varied perspectives of her classmates and worked closely with faculty and mentors – an experience she hopes to bring to students in her division at Tri-County. Technical College.

“The real thing about graduate school was the diversity of people you had a very close relationship with and who had different life experiences,” she says. “In addition, there was the depth of the relationships you established with the faculty members. I have built lasting relationships with people who have continued to support and encourage me throughout my career.


Share this story! Let your friends on your social network know what you read


The subjects:
Alumni, Academics, Graduate studies, Careers, College of Engineering and Computer Science

[ad_2]

Source link