Hands-on Lessons Take Flight at Boeing

Six students returned to class this year with a new appreciation for engineering.

The students were selected earlier this year to participate in a 150-hour internship with the commercial airplane maker, Boeing.

Diamond Bar High's participation in the program, , will bring in six from the high school's Brahma Technical Program, which trains students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses.

The students selected are: Willie Lo, James McCreary, Vincent Pang, Wilson Wu, Drew Liu, and Samantha Chen.

In the program's first year, Brahma Tech Academy Coordinator Alina Gallardo said students were able to spend time with professionals in STEM fields.

"Interns have the unique opportunity to ask questions of the many professionals they work with, as well as learning about careers they never knew existed," Gallardo said.

Gallardo said that training in STEM fields can position students well for some of the most rapidly expanding professional fields.

Of the 20 fastest-growing occupations identified by the U.S. Department of Labor for 2014, 15 require training in science, technology, math, or engineering, Gallardo said.

Gallardo said the program can help the students get from the classroom to the lab.

"The field experience these students are getting in the workplace serves to validate what we are teaching in the classroom and therefore make the experience complete," Gallardo said.

The program was developed by Gallardo and parent Clark Rucker, who is an employee at Boeing.