Engineering their future

Bradley Miller, 17, combined two interests to make his project on display at Carson High School’s engineer fair Thursday evening.

“I figured if I was going to make something, I’d make it fit a passion of mine,” he said, “which is video games.”

Using card stock and Styrofoam balls, he built a mobile.

“The mobile body itself is a Pokemon, an iconic one,” he said. “What’s hanging from it is poke balls, the signature item of the game.”

Students in Teresa Breeden’s first-year engineering and computer-aided drafting and design classes hosted the fair to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned in the engineering program, which started last year at the high school.

“I get to see the students make amazing stuff all year long,” she said. “But nobody sees it. This is the students’ chance to say, ‘Hey, I made this.’”

Projects included a model airplane, along with a model hot-air balloon and blimp.

Gilberto Vega and Ramon Rojas, both 15, built miniature bows and arrows.

“We do a lot of fun things,” Vega said. “I learned how to make more things with my hands.”

Jason Thorsen, 18, made wooden holders for poker chips and cards in his computer-aided drafting and design class.

“I’m interested in it, but as a hobby, not as a career,” he said. “I love metal work. I’m going to school to become a professional welder.”

Rojas said his engineering class will likely shape his future.

“Taking this class showed me how it is,” he said. “That it’s something I’m interested in.”