ASB-2012 was one of the best experiences of my life. At the end of spring break I found that I had made many new friends, provided high school students with valuable information, and heightened many of my own skills. The first day of ASB-2012 I was extremely nervous before presenting to the high school, throughout the days I progressively became more and more confident in myself and now at the end of it I find that I have much more confidence in myself and I’m a much better public speaker. Overall, I am so grateful for this experience, coming out of it I feel that I’ve grown in so many ways and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it. ~Thomas Kuchta
We took questions that they had about the University of Michigan, being engineering students, or college in general. That panel was definitely the high point of the whole trip (not that there were any low points). There were at least 2 young men who showed interest in the automotive industry, and one of them approached me after the actual forum ended and wanted to know more about the automotive research programs at the University of Michigan. In fact I think that we were all busy fielding individual questions for about 5 minutes after we stepped off the auditorium stage. Instead of leaving and hurrying to their next class or lunch break, they stuck around and talked to us for a little while. I was happy to be able to be able to share my perspectives and potentially impact the decisions of all the high-schoolers we talked to at all of the schools we visited, but I felt like this was much more personal.
~Stephen Thompson
Working with ASB, I obtained a sense of family with my colleagues on the trip and a pleasure in watching the students: observing those students who knew [how to design the turbine] help and assist others on their team. Leaders emerged. You began to see a facet of the student the teacher may not have seen. All because of the engagement of the project. I remember a team (company) of young women, who had built a turbine and approached the testing area very uneasy and hesitant, almost with a basket of hope in each of their hands. When their turbine actually worked and produced energy the whole team jumped for joy. It didn’t produce much but that was enough. That stands out. The happiness that came from the collaborative effort actually working was priceless.
~Michael Hall
I wanted to participate in ASB-2012 because I love giving back to individuals that are younger than me. As a high school student I had no idea what engineers did, and I wanted the high school students that we visited to be aware of it. Giving them the opportunity to see a field such as engineering would help them better decide what they would like to study once college comes along, whether they liked it or not.
I also wanted to have fun!
~ Frankie Reed