DTE engineers share the power of teamwork

Engineers from DTE Energy visited Shelby Junior High School students recently to talk about their careers and the power of teamwork.

Engineers Adam Jacob and Monica Orengo-Irizarry told students in Andy Davis’ Design and Engineering II class that the ability to work in teams is often the determining factor in the success of a project.

“As an engineer, you don’t work by yourself,” Orengo-Irizarry said. “You work in teams and you have to learn to work with people you don’t know.”

To prove their point, they divided students into random groups and challenged them to build a structure made of toothpicks and the candy Dots. Students were assigned specific tasks such as a project manager plus design and structural engineeers.

Once constructed, the structure was tested to see if it could withold the weight of six large wood blocks.

If the team stayed together, then their structure stayed together.

It was a lesson not lost on eighth grader Dan Bainbridge.

“You really need to rely on each other. It helps you see things you might have missed,” he said.