Eastern Carolina students learn about engineering careers

CHERRY POINT, N.C. (WITN) - Students throughout eastern North Carolina got a chance to check out careers in engineering recently.

Over 30 engineers from the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center in Cherry Pointe visited 26 area schools and spoke to more than 2,700 students ranging from elementary to high school.

According to center employees, the hands-on demonstration included taking part in different areas that use science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in a way that is meant to make a career in engineering less intimidating, especially from a math perspective.

Chris Rivera is one of the engineers at FRC East that took part in the demonstrations. Rivera said that the opportunity to talk to engineers can help clear up misconceptions about the job and inspire the students.

“Sometimes they are scared off by the math involved in engineering,” said Rivera. “They’re told it is much scarier than it actually is. I want to make sure they understand that even if they’re weak in math, they can get through it. I struggled sometimes. But you can work through it. If you are persistent and you know how to work with a team, there’s a really good chance that you’ll make an excellent engineer.”

According to Rivera, the outreach effort help showcase the career opportunities available at FRC East and is helping develop their future workforce.

The military depot is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul, and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military, and contract workers