FlatironDragados employees introduced local students in South Los Angeles to the excitement of STEM, igniting curiosity and career exploration for International STEM Day. This annual event highlights the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Los Angeles World Airports invited FlatironDragados to take part, and volunteer teams visited two South Los Angeles high schools to lead presentations and a hands-on engineering activity.
- At Augustus F. Hawkins High School, Nirav Patel, Nicole Holliday and Yasmin Chavez worked with a class of 14 ninth-graders.
- At the Communication & Technology High School within the Diego Rivera Learning Complex, Rick Finken, Alfredo Rodriguez and Adrian Sanchez engaged with 36 seniors.
Both sessions included an overview of FlatironDragados by highlighting major Southern California projects, including the LAX Automated People Mover and North Coast Corridor in San Diego County. Students learned about the many career paths available in construction before breaking into small groups for a hands-on STEM activity.
Working in teams, students used custom STEM kits prepared by our team to build popsicle-stick truss bridges. They planned, designed and constructed their bridges, then presented their design choices and challenges in 60-second presentations.
“Our outreach event was a great success. Judging by the energy in the room, the kids truly enjoyed both the presentation and the hands-on project,” said Project Engineer Nirav Patel. “We had an incredibly imaginative group, and it was inspiring to see their enthusiasm in action. It was a genuine pleasure to be part of this initiative. Looking forward to more opportunities to connect and inspire!”
Nicole Holliday, Business Enterprise Administration Specialist, said, “This helped spark curiosity and open doors for students to imagine themselves in careers they may have never considered — especially in the construction industry, where they could one day be part of building the next landmark in the Los Angeles area. That kind of impact is powerful.”
