A New Year’s Resolution

This was the image on Instagram that caught my eye:

For some reason it put me in mind of a certain lovable character from Disney/Pixar. I stopped my scrolling to see what it was all about.

I have to admit I was surprised to see it was on the Howard Community College account.

What’s it like being a engineering student at HCC? Well, last semester, engineering students participated in a semester-long project with projects ranging from campus game-room screen protectors, accessible drone piloting systems, to open-source COVID-19 pulmonary respirators. It all came together in December for Engineering Project Night. Take a look!

Here’s the link to the short video of the event:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZKTrbUFBwL/?utm_medium=copy_link

It’s pretty darned cool. There’s nothing in my background that’s even remotely engineering-related, but, after watching this video, I wished I could take that class. The projects are fascinating, the students knowledgable, and their engagement and enthusiasm is obvious.

As an early childhood educator I’ve always been a big fan of project based learning. So many topics benefit from taking a hands on, student directed approach. So many learners do better that way. You don’t have to be a preschooler to appreciate that building something yourself is superior to taking notes in a lecture.

Here’s a YouTube video about another Engineering Projects Night:

Engineering Projects Night, 2019

https://youtu.be/owmzi2eysxg

If this kind of stuff fascinates you, take a look at this one, too:

HCC students are building a Formula One style vehicle (April, 2021)

https://youtu.be/-wRgpX_153c

Why did this surprise me? Probably because my perception of what HCC does is either far too vague or far too narrow. I knew it was a great place to get pre-requisites out of the way before transferring to a four year institution. I knew they had professional certificate programs for things like computer science, culinary/hospitality, and early childhood/childcare. All of that is true but clearly that only scratches the surface.

How can community college be this up-to-date (dare I say “cutting edge”?) and this much fun? I feel pretty foolish. I mean, I’ve come to have a very high opinion of HCC over the years, but I haven’t exactly gone very deep in my understanding.

Anyway, if you knew all this, bear with me. I’m going to get to work becoming better informed about a place I guess I’ve been taking for granted. Finally! A New Year’s resolution I think I can keep: learn more about HCC.

If you are interested in learning more about engineering programs at HCC, click here. To learn more about HCC overall, visit their website, follow them on Facebook, Twitter @HowardCC, and Instagram @howardcommcollege. And TikTok - - who knew?

Now I want to go back to college.

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