Gateway Community College hosted an “Engineering and Technology Day” get-together Thursday morning at its downtown New Haven campus. More than 100 students from Ansonia High School, Eli Whitney Technical High School, Hamden High School and West Haven High School got a chance to see robots, digital electronics and other technology while learning about programs of study at the school.
The event was targeted for area high-school seniors interested in pursuing careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics.)
Eric Lynn, who chairs Gateway’s Department of Engineering Technology, earned an associate’s degree from GCC before continuing his studies at the University of Connecticut. Lynn told the high-schoolers that fully half of the Gateway engineering faculty started at the school before continuing their education to earn master’s degrees or higher.
Careers in science, technology and engineering in many cases “offer immediate placement into good careers that pay good money,” Lynn told the students. “They’re in demand because they solve problems.”
In welcoming the attendees Gateway Dean of Academics Mark Kosinski pointed out that in 1973 only about a quarter (26 percent) of U.S. workers needed a higher-education academic credential to get a good job. By 1992 that number had grown to 56 percent. Today, he said, the figure was almost 70 percent.
“Nationwide there are almost 3 million open jobs in the United States that an associate’s degree can get you into,” Kosinski said. “It’s also a great stepping stone to a bachelor’s degree.”
Gateway offers one-year certificate programs in computer-aided design (CAD), electronics technician and computer servicing. An associate of science degree involves a two-year curriculum and paves the way for transfer to a four-year B.S. degree program. GCC students can select from a host of options on the B.S. track, including engineering technology programs at in-state schools such as the University of Bridgeport and Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
A.S. degree programs offered by Gateway include biomedical engineering, manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering and railroad engineering and technology (the most recent addition to the GCC curriculum).
“Learning is about lighting a fire,” Kosinski told the high-schoolers. “It comes from within you.”
Contact Michael C. Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com
