Boeing, Ridley High School team up to celebrate National Engineers Week

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- On Tuesday, teams of Ridley High School juniors and seniors put their heads together to build safe stopping robots using concepts engineers at nearby Boeing use every day.

"So we used a plastic cup and then conductive tape, which is just aluminum," explained senior Sam Kusner.

"If it's on the foil, it's going to move, so it creates a closed circuit," senior Anika Rahman said.

Boeing has 50 volunteers at 13 schools throughout our region for "Engineers Week," which gives students a glimpse of what it means to work for Boeing.

"You see real people doing what you want to do when you're older and that puts it into perspective like I could see myself there," added Kusner.

"We love to engage in the community where our employees live and work. Being so close to Ridley High School, it's great for our employees," Michele Hengey, of Boeing, told Action News.

Indeed with Boeing about a mile from the school, students can use the company as a resource as they explore future career options.

"I think for a lot of us we know that we're good at STEM, we know that we're good at calc, and we just want to be an engineer, but I think actually hearing what it's like and giving us a job opportunity that's realistic for us - where we live and our location," explained senior Caroline Kunze.

Math teacher Brian Forney said this type of event is important so students can make more informed decisions.

"They're one of the largest employers in Delaware County, and being right here in Ridley in our backyard we have a lot of graduates - former students - employed by Boeing, so it's really important we have the community outreach," Principal Ken Acker said.