{"185621":{"#nid":"185621","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Small Town Engineering program founded by Tech graduate impacts rural communities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2007, Caitlin Henegar left her small hometown of Trenton, Georgia, to come to the big city and earn a Georgia Tech mechanical engineering degree. Although she\u2019s still in Atlanta working on her Ph.D. in Bioengineering, she hasn\u2019t forgotten northwest Georgia. In fact, she\u2019s hoping to inspire young students in Trenton and other rural communities to follow in her footsteps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why Henegar founded Small Town Engineering (STE), an outreach program that targets middle and high school students in smaller communities in Georgia and Alabama. She and STE partner Kevin Bandy, a former Georgia Tech student, work together to create engineering-inspired and hands-on lesson plans for teachers, visit schools and speak with students about how math, science and engineering can be fun and interesting fields to explore. They work with teachers to ensure that students continue to have an interest in engineering in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHenegar says students in small towns are often at a disadvantage when it comes to engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNot only are they not targeted by other outreach groups, but they also miss out on more hands-on learning\u0026nbsp;opportunities,\u201d she said. \u201cAnother reason is due to the size of these towns. Since they are small, the\u0026nbsp;mentality\u0026nbsp;of the community is often very similar. Students\u0026nbsp;are not exposed to a wide variety of ideas and ways of thinking that might otherwise be found in a large city.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHenegar also says students in rural communities have limited access to new, exciting technology, especially if they live in low income areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe initiative began in August of 2011. STE has made four school visits (three in Alabama and one in Georgia). Future plans include integrating with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition to create a rotation system that will increase the number of school visits and lesson plans. The response from both teachers and students affected by STE has been very positive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we go to the schools, the kids get so excited for the hands-on activities,\u201d said Henegar. \u201cWe\u2019re not only teaching them about math and science, but also showing them what opportunities exist outside of their environment. We want to encourage students to attend and complete college in the math, science and engineering fields.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring their classroom visits, STE has had 95-percent student engagement during hands-on activities that range from building products to looking at microfluidic bacteria. One challenge that the young students often deal with is having the confidence to pursue a college degree.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe mentality of the teachers and parents needs to be one of encouragement to help build the students\u2019 confidence,\u201d said Henegar. She tries to tie in her PhD research with the lesson plans to show the students how engineering includes small-scale and large-scale concepts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJuggling the STE responsibilities with her Ph.D. work is difficult, but Henegar says it\u2019s worth it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI really enjoy working with the kids and getting them excited about math and science like I was as a grade school student,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019m happy to show younger students the importance of furthering their education for a great career and opening their minds to the world beyond their small town.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWritten by Vett Vandiver, Institute Communications Student Assistant\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESmall Town Engineering is an outreach program that targets middle and high school students in smaller communities in Georgia and Alabama.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Small Town Engineering is an outreach program that targets middle and high school students in smaller communities in Georgia and Alabama."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2013-01-22 11:38:25","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:29","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"185601":{"id":"185601","type":"image","title":"Small Town Engineering Caitlin Henegar","body":null,"created":"1449179081","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:41","changed":"1475894833","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:13","alt":"Small Town Engineering Caitlin Henegar","file":{"fid":"196140","name":"caitlin_headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caitlin_headshot_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/caitlin_headshot_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":126221,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/caitlin_headshot_0.jpg?itok=U6YX0Adt"}},"185581":{"id":"185581","type":"image","title":"Small Town Engineering Classroom 2","body":null,"created":"1449179081","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:41","changed":"1475894833","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:13","alt":"Small Town Engineering Classroom 2","file":{"fid":"196138","name":"dsc_0012.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0012_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0012_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":574929,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0012_0.jpg?itok=6vLC_UBc"}},"185591":{"id":"185591","type":"image","title":"Small Town Engineering Classroom 1","body":null,"created":"1449179081","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:41","changed":"1475894833","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:13","alt":"Small Town Engineering Classroom 1","file":{"fid":"196139","name":"dsc_0053.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0053_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0053_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":524798,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0053_0.jpg?itok=KCoQVN8h"}},"185611":{"id":"185611","type":"image","title":"Small Town Engineering Kevin Bandy","body":null,"created":"1449179081","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:41","changed":"1475894833","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:13","alt":"Small Town Engineering Kevin Bandy","file":{"fid":"196141","name":"kevin_headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kevin_headshot_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kevin_headshot_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":153913,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kevin_headshot_0.jpg?itok=SJlFE8vq"}}},"media_ids":["185601","185581","185591","185611"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.smalltownengineering.com\/","title":"Small Town Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14651","name":"College of Engineering; George W. 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