UA Co-op Student Sees a Need and Reaches Out to Support

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – An annual summer youth educational program, sponsored by the employees of the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center at Redstone Arsenal, needed fresh ideas and someone to step up – a University of Alabama cooperative education student did just that.

The Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science Program, or GEMS, is part of the Army Educational Outreach Program, which consists of Army-sponsored research, education, competitions, internships and practical experiences designed to engage and guide students and teachers. Dr. Steven Smith, director of special projects at the AMRDEC, was looking for additional topics for this year’s GEMS classes.

Jessica L. Mintz, a UA co-op student studying electrical and computer engineering from Birmingham (35242), worked this summer in the Embedded Processors Group, Electronics and Computer Technology Division, Weapons Development and Integration Directorate. She became involved with the GEMS program from the start of the planning process.

“Noting a conversation that I had about the need for additional projects for this year’s GEMS students, Jessica offered several excellent suggestions on how to strengthen the proposed 2008 GEMS curriculum,” said Smith.

The group soon realized they needed to add modules to the schedule to provide the GEMS students with a challenging program and to maximize their time. Mintz soon discovered her involvement would entail more than planning.

“After it became clear that building the computers would not take all the time allotted for the week, we were asked to develop additional activities for the students,” said Mintz.

“I was pleased to have Jessica take an interest in this valuable outreach program for youth, and I was most impressed and appreciative when she volunteered to serve as both instructor and mentor,” said Smith.

The module Mintz developed was comprehensive, and her performance as an instructor helped motivate her students to do their best.

“The resulting module concentrated on electrical and computer engineering. The GEMS students built the computer, wrote a handful of programs in the high-level language C++, assembled and soldered a robotic mouse, learned about soldering safely, and built Web sites,” said Mintz.

Based on student feedback, it is clear that Mintz proved herself as a GEMS instructor and mentor, well-supported AMRDEC, and provided her students with a challenging educational experience.

“Jessica played an extremely vital role in this year’s GEMS program, and I received very positive feedback from all of the students. Jessica was able to challenge and encourage the GEMS participants, which is so important in a one-week program teeming with young teens. She certainly has a bright future,” said Smith.

As her time as a GEMS instructor ended, it was difficult to say who benefitted more this summer–the students or Mintz.

“I had an awesome and rewarding experience working with GEMS. The summer before my senior year of high school I attended a SITE, which is a similar engineering camp at UA, and it was one of the best times of my life. Since then, I have hoped to be a counselor for that program because I am a big advocate for engineering and love helping anyone wondering if the field is right for them,” said Mintz.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.