Last week, the BOLD Center hosted a group of Abraham Lincoln High School students who were participants of the College Track Program. Introduced to the school in 2016, College Track supports students from underserved communities in several states and remains involved until they complete their college degrees.
As an introduction to the possibilities of STEM careers, these students spent time with current engineering GoldShirt scholars, Jasmine Gamboa (EnvEngr’20), Jennifer Murillo (MechEngr’22), Phillip Vo (ChemBioEng’20), who led a water-filtration workshop. Each team of four was given samples of unclean water from the campus’ Kittredge Pond along with a limited amount of supplies that included gauze pads, cotton balls, coffee filters, and fabric. Their challenge was to develop three different water filters with the provided supplies in under 20 minutes while producing the clearest water sample possible. Throughout this project, not only were the students able to see the immediate results of their designs, but they gained hands-on experience regarding a real engineering challenge that the world still faces—clean water.
After the workshop, these students wrapped-up the day by touring the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and learning how other engineering principles can be applied in a hands-on environment.
Jasmine Gamboa is a CU Boulder Engineering student studying environmental engineering.