A plea for all the future engineers | Letter

Published 11:55 am Thursday, August 28, 2014

As summer winds down and I think about all the kids’ camps that have happened – music, ceramics, sailing, Orkila, soccer, Spanish, circus, farm animals, golf, etc. – I am grateful for this place.

Thank you to all of you who have put so much into all of our children. This island’s breadth of summer activities rivals that of a big city.

My eight-year-old son said something the other day that got me thinking about next summer – or perhaps sooner. After his first day of soccer camp he firmly said to me, “Mom, why did you sign me up for soccer camp? You know I’m interested in engineering!” I have nothing against soccer camp. And nevermind the fact that he can run like the wind. He just happened to come out of the womb an engineer type. He wants real-world, hands-on engineering projects to learn and work on every single day. He needs technical school. If he is like this, there must be other kids here who are the same.

I wonder if anyone reading this letter has ideas about this subject. Are you a retired engineer – mechanical, aerospace, electrical, etc. – and would love to instruct kids with seriously hungry minds? Do you like the idea of being a weekly or monthly one-on-one mentor? Do you have a great workspace you’d be willing to let kids use? Do you like the idea of a projects group that involves collaboration with other retired professionals? Or grander yet, what about an Orcas version of MIT for grade-school kids? Thank you for considering how this dialogue can be made into a reality.

Edee Kulper

Orcas Island