Andrew Sink, State College of Florida Engineering Technology

Andrew is currently working at ETCO Inc. as a Test Lab. Technician in their Research and Development department, and recently graduated from SCF with an A.A.S.E.T. Degree. He was nominated for Outstanding Graduate at SCF. “I was one of 5 nominated, and it was really exciting to sit on stage at the December, 2012 graduation ceremony” Andrew stated. Andrew continues his nonstop education; he has been formally accepted for the summer 2013 term at the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee, majoring in English with a concentration in Technical Writing, and continues learning the Spanish and Basque languages. He has volunteered to help Jon Arias, a newly graduated E.T. student from the Basque country, during his internship in Florida. Andrew feels that “This trip was a life-changing experience, and I cannot express enough how grateful I am for all of the hard work, dedication, and selfless effort FLATE put into organizing and executing this trip. The academic knowledge I gained was first-class, and the cultural knowledge was something that I don’t think I could have ever gotten to experience on my own. Staying in the Basque country was such a great experience. The skills I learned at SCF and during my training in Spain enabled me to get a job in the electronics field almost immediately; and the hands-on lab exercises were extremely beneficial to me”. He credits both his program and his instructors: “The ET program here at SCF has given me the skills and training I needed to get two jobs in the industry, and I wouldn’t have gotten either of them without my time at SCF”.

Afrad Mahamed, Polk State College Engineering Technology

Mahamed will be completing his AS degree in Engineering Technology this semester and is looking forward to gaining more ET related knowledge and experience. Mahamed, expressed that “having the privilege of attending an ET program and participating in the training in Spain, I was able to gain a holistic insight on where the ET program is heading and the exciting things being developed for its future by doing and seeing things become reality that others only dream of, and seeing technology improve the standard of living and improve efficiency in not only companies but our everyday life. It is very refreshing to see courses that not only satisfy a program’s needs but contain concepts and techniques that are widely relatable, as I’ve seen in the Quality related courses of the ET program. One of my biggest fears was uncertainty of the practical knowledge I would gain or opportunities that would be presented. However, the research, development and constant improvement to the curriculum, highlights a bright future for students, most importantly with gaining necessary, invaluable experience.”

Burton Trampus Bellamy, Hillsborough Community College Engineering Technology

Trampus graduated on summer 2012 from the HCC Engineering Technology program and currently working with Doosan Hydro-technology as electrical engineer associate. His company has assigned him a project in the country of Turkstan (north-west of China), on April he will be traveling and work in this international project for a month. Trampus sharpened his technical skills and gained an international perspective in renewable energy summer 2012. “The Spain program allowed me to learn about alternative energies and engineering opportunities on a global scale,” said Bellamy. ET is a great program it will help in so many areas. The materials class will help me when deciding what type of material to use for certain parts, the measurements and instrumentation class will help in the precision of the parts, the PLC’s will help in designing a program to operate my design. I could go on but you get the picture. Each class has its own way of making a better final product.”

Christopher Delgado, Hillsborough Community College Electronics Engineering

Christopher found this HCC degree program online, and is “the type of person to work with electronics,   machines, cables, and so on.  This program will help my career because hopefully it will open the doors to jobs and future opportunities for me and family.” When asked about favorite aspects of the program, he responds, “favorite courses always have something special because they make me work harder and pay more attention to the materials I am learning about. Lab exercises always help put in practice whatever lectures we go through in class. Labs are fun and a very important aspect to learning more.” Christopher puts his enthusiasm into practice as he travels to Spain this summer to study with the Iberian Partnership for Technician Excellence.

Jim Merrill, Brevard Community College Engineering Technology

Jim Merrill, a proud ex-marine recently completed his A. S. engineering technology degree with honors, also received two college credits certificates, one in engineering and one in alternative energies. In addition he obtained his photovoltaic entry level certificate. “I feel that today’s Engineering Technology has become a multicultural worldwide endeavor, I was able to incorporate our trip to Spain that allowed me to accomplish these things and finish in December 2012”, expressed Merrill. Jim finds that the lab work is very important in the academic parts of ET classes because only real hands on practice enabled him to better understand his career.
On January 25, 2013 Jim got married and moved to Kirkland, east of Seattle and currently hi is searching for a job.

Congratulations Jim!

Kelly Yamileth Andino, Brevard Community College Engineering Technology

Kelly is planning to obtain her A. S degree in engineering technology this year. She started the ET program as an assembler working for Harris Corporation, now she has moved up and is working in an aerospace program. “I finally found the career that I really enjoy. With the knowledge and experience gained in the ET program and the training in USURBILGO Skola in Spain, I have grown as a person and as a student feeling more confident in my career and future job opportunities,” expressed Andino. Harris Corporation brings Brevard Community College ET classes on site to help support their employees in career advancement.

Kian Hannan, Brevard Community College Engineering Technology/Advanced Technology

Kian recently moved to the Bahamas and is currently working as deckhand at a Naval installation in Andros. Hannan shared that “When I returned from Spain I found out that while I was gone I lost my job. It happened to work out though that a position I had applied for before I left contacted me, and I was able to secure a job. I have always liked and excelled at STEM subjects in school and I enjoy studying STEM because of the logical real world applications in everyday life. In the Engineering Technology major there are a lot of hands on training exercises, like when we worked with the solar thermal system and took apart the various components. The program was great and has really opened my eyes to international study and manufacturing. It will definitely help broaden my career goals to have included international travel and business.”

Tracy Moehler, Brevard Community College Electrical Technology

Tracy is very nowadays, she just had a new grandbaby and two more coming on July! She continues taking classes at BCC and she hopes soon she will complete her AS ET degree. Tracy has learned to share her time between work, studies and family. She loved mathematics growing up, and was good at it but sometimes finds college algebra a little trying. “I, however, am not known for giving up,” and as a result has been “doing very well in all of my classes, receiving final grades of an A.” Tracy learned about the program from her employer, Harris Corporation, and enjoys the camaraderie of the cohort program: “working with other for a common goal and seeing it through to the end.”