Students at Engineers Day

Inspiring Future Engineers

TCE Welcomes High Schools for Engineers Day 

From as far away New Jersey, Kentucky, and Memphis to just a few miles from campus, more than 1,400 high school students descended upon the University of Tennessee on Thursday to take part in the 112th Engineers Day.  

Hosted by the Tickle College of Engineering, the event gives high school students a chance to tour the TCE facilities and learn about the various aspects of engineering through discussions, project demonstrations, competitions, and exhibits prepared by UT engineering student organizations and resource offices. 

Engineers Day at UT dates back more than 110 years, when students gathered to help clean up campus. The event has grown into a full day of activities that takes up nearly every inch of space in the Zeanah Engineering Complex as well parts of the John D. Tickle and Min H. Kao buildings. This year’s event drew more than 44 different high schools. 

Leilani Karl, the STEM counselor at Kenwood High in Clarksville, Tennessee, has attended Engineers Day multiple times with her students. 

Students at engineers day
Students participating in the egg drop competition at Engineers Day

“It’s an awesome experience for the kids because a lot of the things they get to do are hands on,” said Karl as she watched her students build windmill blades out of paper plates. “They get to talk to people and network, including some alums from our school. That gives them an example of someone who has traveled the same path. The kids love to actually see what they’re going to possibly be able to get into.” 

Throughout the day, the high school students received an overview of the different engineering disciplines provided at UT. They saw examples of how an engineer’s work impacts daily life, and took part in competitions like the egg drop, Lego assembly line, penny boat, prosthetic challenge, and quiz bowl.  

“It was really fun to meet everyone and learn what they were majoring in and everything that they experience on a daily basis as far as the classes they take what they want to do after college,” said Zuri Smith, a junior from Memphis East T-STEM Academy. “It was really nice to see it from a college student perspective.” 

Colter Lewis, a junior at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High in Nashville, is interested in studying computer science in college. He enjoyed learning more about what UT has to offer potential students. 

Students competing in the red cup competition

“The tour that we had was really good,” Lewis said. “The tour guides led us through all the buildings and let us know about the different engineering departments, but also about the city of Knoxville and UT overall as well as their own experiences. Everything we did was really fun, and everybody loves the robot dogs.” 

Alexandria Hampton, a junior mechanical engineering major at UT, is an engineering ambassador. Hampton provided tours for the high school groups and was impressed by the questions asked and how open everyone was to learn more about engineering at UT. 

“I didn’t go to anything like this when I was in high school, and I wish I did because I think it shows them what they’ll be getting into and the opportunities that we do have,” Hampton said. “Not everybody can come to campus on their own to take these tours, so this day is a great chance for them to see the buildings, the clubs, and the student organizations to know how much they can get involved with here. It just makes them more excited for college.” 

Any students or high school interested in attending Engineers Day in the future can contact the TCE Academic and Student Affairs office at [email protected] or 865-974-3691. 

Contact 

Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, [email protected]