Students Launch Boats, Gliders, and Careers at MESA Fall Fling 2002

Nearly 200 high school MESA students from 22 front-range schools attended this year's Fall Fling, an annual two-day event that provides students a taste of

• campus life
  
• applied engineering
  
• career opportunities
  
• academic support
  

Co-sponsored by Seagate Technology, the Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP), and the Women in Engineering Program (WIEP), students were invited to CU-Boulder's campus to compete in boat and glider building competition, attend career lectures, and tour the campus.

CU undergraduates impart college wisdom

After a warm welcome from Colorado MESA, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and Seagate, Fall Fling participants met and spoke with a panel of CU undergraduates about college life.  The panel discussed the differences and transition between high school and college.  They also addressed questions concerning social life, independence, and obtaining financial aid.  A few students from the panel, like architecture major Jason Coby (shown left), are MESA alumni now enrolled at CU.  Last year, over 90 percent of MESA graduates matriculated into college.

Boat Building Competition

With a little assistance from Seagate engineers, students applied their math and science skills to design and build boats out duct tape, wood firring strips, and 500 plastic gallon jugs donated from King Soopers.  Their objective?  To create a boat large enough to transport at least one passenger across the CU recreation center swimming pool.  Emphasizing real life engineering scenarios, students worked against a deadline and a scoring method that compelled them to calculate a winning balance between cost-efficiency and performance.

This team gets points for keeping their knees dry!

Glider Design Competition

In another hands-on engineering activity, several MESA school teams competed intently for the longest time aloft and furthest distance traveled in the 3rd annual Colorado MESA glider competition.  In addition to flying their handmade balsa wood gliders, teams devised displays and gave oral presentations detailing their glider engineering projects to a panel of judges.  Awarded more than a trophy and bragging rights, the winners of the statewide glider event will go on to compete against other state teams in the MESA USA National Competition held at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque.

College Attendance and Career Opportunities

Some students received an up-close glimpse of college as they toured the CU-Boulder campus.  Their tour included the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Integrated Teaching and Learning Labs, and the NASA Space Grant facilities.  They also participated in a computer science demonstration with Professor Michael Eisenberg.  All students received information about college admissions and financial aid and attended a guest lecture in which Seagate sales engineer Rob Pait, left, discussed high-tech career opportunities (while demonstrating a video game, no less!).

Fall Fling 2002 Competition Winners

The following lists this year's boat and glider design competition winners.  Each team receives a commemorative trophy, and the winner of the glider competition will compete in the MESA USA National Glider Competition this summer in Tucson.  Congratulations to all Fall Fling participants for another successful year!  We are proud of you!

GLIDER DESIGN COMPETITION WINNERS

1st Place: Bollman Technical Center #1

2nd Place: Bollman Technical Center #2

3rd Place: Grand Junction High School

BOAT BUILDING COMPETITION WINNERS (pictured right)

1st Place: Career Education Center

2nd Place: Smoky Hill High School

3rd Place: John F. Kennedy High School

Acknowledgements: Colorado MESA would like to thank Aerospace Engineering Professors Donna Gerren and Scott Palo for their assistance with the Glider Design Competition.

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