Students from Hamden Visit Quinnipiac University

Ari Perez, assistant professor of civil engineering at Quinnipiac University, led students from the Hamden Talented and Gifted Program through a water filtration activity during the students’ recent visit to the engineering labs at Quinnipiac. Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac University/Autumn Driscoll.

HAMDEN, CT – Students from the Hamden Talented and Gifted program recently visited Quinnipiac University to learn what it would be like to be an engineer in outer space.

The School of Engineering hosted the students who participated in hands-on activities, toured the school’s labs and learned more about the field of engineering. The civil engineering faculty led the students through a water filtration activity based on the idea of having to get clean water during space exploration.

“I hope the students understand that engineering is all about solving real-world problems,” said Ari Perez, assistant professor of civil engineering. “Experimentation is a necessary part of the problem-solving process.”

Grace Guidet, the district TAG/enrichment teacher, said, “The events our students participated in at Quinnipiac tie right into our current space and STEAM teachings. The program helps our students begin to plan out their future and decide whether the field of engineering interests them.”

Students in TAG participate in various rigorous units of study designed to provide opportunities for them to apply their knowledge and skills in real-life situations.

Kimberly DiGiovanni, assistant teaching professor of civil engineering, said, “Part of the work they do in the TAG program is to imagine the future, so their visit today allowed them to imagine themselves as engineers in the future.”

In addition, the students met with faculty in the mechanical, industrial, computer science and software engineering programs and met with current engineering students at the university.