KCI Technologies, in partnership with Junior Achievement of Central Maryland (JA), hosted a JA Job Shadow at its Sparks, Md.-based national headquarters on National Shadow an Engineer Day for 25 Pre-Engineering Academy and Business/Finance Academy students from Oakland Mills High School in Columbia.

The job shadow’s main objective was to make students aware of the variety of exciting opportunities for engineering and science careers available to them. Currently, the number of U.S. graduates in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields is increasing at only 0.8 percent each year, which will not keep up with the demand in the workforce (cKMinsey Global Institute, June 2011).

To prepare, the Oakland Mills students spent weeks studying KCI and their innovations. The business students developed business plans and incorporated the KCI business model into their research. The engineering students used the design process to create products that solve real world problems.

During the job shadow, the students toured KCI’s LEED Certified Gold building, dialogued with some of the company’s young professionals and witnessed some of the company’s projects, several of which they had studied.

“It is important for our students to see the connection between what’s taught in school and what’s happening in real life,” said Skip Yarn, STEM coordinator at Oakland Mills High School and a teacher of Project Lead the Way for youth who wish to pursue careers in engineering. “Through this program, they realized that more goes into a building than bricks and mortar.”

“They learned how to make buildings more ‘green,’ as well as the importance of good design, saving money and having an impact through the work you do,” Yarn added. “I don’t think you can put a dollar value on this. It is an experience the kids will remember for a lifetime. Here are some of the comments they made:

‘KCI is such an awesome company.’About JA Job Shadow™  & Junior Achievement of Central Maryland
JA Job Shadow takes students into the workplace to learn about careers. The program provides an authentic work-world experience for the students, enhanced with classroom preparatory and follow-up activities. In recent years, Junior Achievement has partnered with the following companies in Maryland to host JA Job Shadows: Bechtel Power Corporation, Toyota, Financial, AT&T, Glass Jacobson and Stanley Black & Decker. 

‘It was fantastic, we should do this more often.’

‘Very informative.’

‘It was amazing.’

‘I never knew that engineering included so much about helping the environment.’

‘This was a field trip where I learned something that will actually help me in the future.’

‘Everyone at KCI seems to love what they are doing.’ ‘Everyone was so happy... and nice... and friendly.’”

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About KCI

KCI is an engineering, consulting and construction firm serving clients throughout the United States and beyond. With revenues of approximately $117 million in 2011, KCI is ranked 96 on the Engineering News-Record's list of the top 500 engineering firms in the country. Roughly 1,000 KCI employee owners provide environmental, transportation, telecommunications, construction, facilities, and land development services from more than 20 locations. For more information, visit www.kci.com.

About JA Job Shadow™  & Junior Achievement of Central Maryland

JA Job Shadow takes students into the workplace to learn about careers. The program provides an authentic work-world experience for the students, enhanced with classroom preparatory and follow-up activities. In recent years, Junior Achievement has partnered with the following companies in Maryland to host JA Job Shadows: Bechtel Power Corporation, Toyota, Financial, AT&T, Glass Jacobson and Stanley Black & Decker.

Junior Achievement of Central Maryland is dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for kindergarten through 12^th grade students which focus on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Founded in 1957, the non-profit organization annually serves more than 33,000 students throughout Central Maryland. For more information, visit www.jamaryland.org.