A novel pilot program is helping to spark high school students’ interest in engineering and STEM as well as show them the impact they can have on their communities. The students’ main assignment focused on historic Jefferson Street in Nashville.
The program was started by Ghina Absi, assistant professor in the practice of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University. It is a joint venture with the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV), which is a partnership with Vanderbilt and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). Juniors from various Nashville high schools came together once a week for three hours from Aug. 29 to Sept. 19 to learn about civil engineering and the roles of ethics and social justice in the field. The students researched the Federal Highway Act of 1956, which authorized construction of the country’s Interstate Highway System, and the adverse effect it had on many communities, like Jefferson Street. The construction of Interstate 40 split the once thriving community, forcing numerous businesses to close and creating economic hardship that is still felt today.
As part of their assignment, the students got into groups and were asked to imagine a bridge that could be built near Jefferson Street to re-connect the community above I-40. The students used images, such as murals, from Jefferson Street to come up with creative designs for their bridges. For instance, there was a sunrise bridge, a piano bridge, a liberty bus bridge, and even a walk of fame bridge, all reflecting the soul and essence of the Jefferson Street community.
“They all did such an impressive job designing for the values of the community,” Absi said. “My goal was to introduce these high schoolers to civil engineering, and I left so proud and enriched by their designs.”
She said feedback from the project has been overwhelmingly positive, with some students now considering civil engineering as a future career, and others appreciating the social justice application in STEM.
“Studies show that middle and high school students’ exposure to hands-on engineering activities increase their interest in pursuing STEM careers, especially with female and underrepresented groups of students,” Absi said.
Blessing Kosia was one of the student participants and she appreciated the hands-on aspect of the program.
“Experience-wise, I thought it was very beneficial,” Kosia said. “All the different scientific subjects that we were able to study, able to research and conduct experiments, I thought it was pretty cool.”
During the program, the juniors got an opportunity to work with Vanderbilt undergraduate engineering students, which gave them some insight into college life and an opportunity to be mentored. At the same time, the undergraduate students also benefited from participating.
For instance, Grace Deckard, a sophomore civil engineering major, said she gained a bit of confidence, and more, when she assisted students with calculations in the construction of the bridges.
“When the students were working on the calculations, some of them asked for help and needed further explanation,” Deckard said. “I tried walking them through the calculations and was a little intimidated because I was never the best at it myself. However, the student I was working with got it and then proceeded to help their peers with it. I felt such pride that I was able to help a student and that they continued to help others through the process.”
At the end of the program, students gave presentations about their designs, and how they felt they would impact the community. Emily Van Schaack, a senior and master’s student in mechanical engineering, said showing the connection to the community was a key component of the program.
“Engineers can impact so many people with their designs, and this point is often not touched on in the engineering courses,” Schaack said. “As an engineer, we have a responsibility to the community, and I am thankful Dr. Absi is focused on infusing EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) principles into engineering projects for all ages.”
Absi said she plans to have two other programs in the spring of 2025 with a larger group of local middle schoolers and hopes that this type of STEM/social justice hands-on project becomes part of regular curricula in schools, particularly in those where STEM support is scarce. Angela Eeds, executive director of the Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach at Vanderbilt, the organization that houses SSMV, said she would like to see that become reality because of the benefits of the curriculum.
“Programs like this help students be able to not just learn STEM content but apply their content to areas where they’re either exposed to research problems that can be answered in the community, or also just exposure to people with different careers,” Eeds said. “They get a chance to meet people they may not have met in their classrooms at their schools.”
Funding for the program was provided in part through a KEEN Fellowship Absi received last year and Vanderbilt’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
