The Orange County Bridge |2| Engineering Program is a cohort-based learning community at Saddleback College, Santa Ana College, Cal State Fullerton & UC Irvine that focuses on increasing the participation of unrepresented minorities, women, and veterans in the field of engineering. The program will help participants explore careers in engineering and place them on an academic pathway to become engineers. Recently, Saddleback B2E student, Braden Giali, had the opportunity to write about his internship experience with Swift Engineering:
"Choosing a career path was unfathomably difficult [for me]. While my passion for tinkering, designing, fixing, and building led me towards a STEM profession, I was not quite ready to embark onto such an academically rigorous degree.
In the spring of 2015, I was given the opportunity to intern at Swift Engineering. As a composite technician intern, I was taught the fundamentals of composites. Each and every day was something new, as I experienced every part of the process from start to finish.
When the opportunity of interning at Swift became available once again [in June of 2016], I was very eager to return. Although the company and the staff were familiar, my internship involvement was vastly different. I had a profound experience working with a small team of diverse engineers to turn an idea into a functioning machine. To be a part of [this process] as an intern brought many challenges, but it helped me grow as an engineering student in many ways.
These internships helped me gain confidence, and receive guidance and comradery necessary for me to take the first steps toward a career in Engineering. Not only did I learn a trade, I also started to develop the invaluable skill of resolving problems from an engineering point of view; a skill I will take with me as I continue to better myself and further my education. I am very grateful for all that the Bridge 2 Engineering program provided me, as the experience is absolutely crucial for being successful in such a difficult yet promising field."
For more information, visit https://networkkinection.com/.
Program made possible by funding from the Department of Labor and the City of Santa Ana. This program is an equal opportunity program. Auxiliary aids and service are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
