June 30, 2025
A new scene greeted visitors in Benton Hall seemingly every time they peeked through the window to Room 428 last week at the University of Missouri–St. Louis... all of it part of the curriculum for the inaugural Engineering Summer Camp hosted by the new UMSL School of Engineering. More than 30 high school students, nearly evenly divided among grades 9-12 and from more than 20 area high schools – a group that included Christian Brothers College, Kirkwood and McCluer as well as Ladue Horton Watkins, Parkway West and University City – attended the weeklong camp at UMSL. “These high school students are the future, so training them early and giving them exposure to engineering will really provide the workforce that we need to drive the regional economy,” said George Nnanna, founding director of the UMSL School of Engineering... “bringing in this hands-on experience and getting industry involved is critical so that they can see how to apply the math and science to solve engineering problems.”
Hazelwood West High School students, homeschoolers from St. Peters, and many others immersed themselves in hands-on experiences with robotic arms, structural engineering, and virtual reality tools. “I love the innovation... and the teamwork,” said Jay’lah Grady. “It makes a difference,” said Kelvin Boyd of the STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley. Highlights included a field trip to Boeing and a bridge-building challenge. “A lot of teens do not want to sit in a room... so I think it’s great that there’s been a lot of hands-on activities,” said Seth King. Nnanna, now recruiting faculty and engaging industry, hopes to see these students at UMSL in the future: “It will be the only public engineering school in eastern Missouri and will provide the socioeconomic mobility that is needed to move the community forward.”
