PRESS RELEASE


For Immediate Release:
January 17, 2012

Media Contact:
Jennifer Cahill, PLTW Director of Communications
317.669.0871 or jcahill@pltw.org

A Student’s Goals Redefined
High school senior thanks PLTW for introduction to world of engineering


TOPPENISH, WASH.—The day Martin Vera enrolled at Toppenish High School, he told his advisor he hoped he would graduate. If he did, he would be the first in his family to finish high school. Today, Vera is a senior at Toppenish with an appointment on his advisor’s calendar to help him fill out the FAFSA and aspirations of attending Washington State University in the fall.

If you ask Vera what changed his mind, he’ll quickly tell you the answer—the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Pathway To Engineering classes at Toppenish. “It’s hands-on,” Vera says. “I work with real materials and learn new things. Engineering Design taught me soldering. Before ED, I knew what it was, but I didn’t know what to do or how it was used.”

Vera demonstrated just a fraction of the knowledge he’s gained through his PLTW courses during Toppenish High Schools’ STEM Showcase Tuesday evening. With two of his peers, Vera soldered a circuit board, demonstrating the steps used to make what onlookers would call an LED die.

Vera and team members demonstrate the soldering technique on their circuit board.

A biomedical sciences student shows showcase attendees the differences between male and female bones.

 Hundreds of students from Toppenish’s engineering and biomedical sciences programs showed off their projects during Tuesday’s STEM Showcase. They set up displays in the hallways and presented their findings on the Performing Arts Center stage to a standing-room-only packed house. Before the program began, students, parents, and the community received encouraging words.

“We’ve been chosen by the state of Washington as a STEM Lighthouse School,” Toppenish Principal Trevor Greene told the audience. “Because of our work here, we’ve been given $20,000 to grow PLTW and STEM education.”

PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram was also in attendance. Bertram praised the work of students and the passion and commitment from the Toppenish teachers and administrators, encouraging them all to take pride in their success while always continuing to learn and grow.

Sitting there in the audience, the idea of continuous learning and growing hit home with Vera in particular. He is a long way from four years ago, and he thanks PLTW for the introduction to his dream of a chemical engineering diploma and a job with the U.S. military.


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About PLTW
Project Lead The Way, Inc., a nonprofit organization with 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status, is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education curricular programs used in schools. PLTW's comprehensive curriculum has been collaboratively designed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators to promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving skills in students. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. More than 4,200 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently offering PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.