Ray Almgren (BSEE ’87), vice president for product marketing and academic relations at Austin-based National Instruments (NI), advocates for grassroots change by supporting a classroom mentorship program that puts 20 percent of NI’s engineers into Central Texas K-12 classrooms every week. At the state level, Almgren is chair of the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium, or TETC, which raises money to fund university- level programs to increase enrollment in engineering and computer science. Nationally, Almgren serves on the executive advisory board of the not-for-profit organization called FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which seeks to make science and engineering as cool for kids as sports.
Katie Kizziar (BSCE ’03) worked for the Cockrell School’s Women in Engineering Program before taking a position managing the not-for-profit Technology and Education Executive Council (TEEC). A coalition of high-tech executives, TEEC works with area school districts and post-secondary institutions to create and expand cutting-edge teacher professional development programs and student enrichment activities. “I studied engineering in college because I wanted to save the world: patch the ozone layer, protect the rainforests,” says Kizziar. “But the alarming lack of students choosing to study engineering soon caught my attention. How was I going to save the world with fewer and fewer engineers to help me?”
Tricia Berry (BSChE ’93) and Andrea Ogilvie (BSCE ’95) manage the Women in Engineering Program (WEP) and the Equal Opportunity in Engineering (EOE) program for the Cockrell School of Engineering. “Encouraging girls and women to pursue engineering and to envision the limitless possibilities of an engineering career is incredibly rewarding and fun,” says Berry. “I enjoy combining my problem-solving abilities, process engineering skills and creative talents to connect students with practical engineering examples and to show students how diverse and rewarding an engineering career can be.”
Classroom Mentors
If you are interested in being a classroom mentor, contact the Cockrell School K-12 Coordinator Cheryl Farmer.
Lighting the Spark: Programs for Students
Making engineering exciting and accessible to kids, the Cockrell School does its part to encourage the next generation of engineers →
Alumni Making a Difference: From the Classroom to the Boardroom
Cockrell School alumni address engineering workforce concerns at every level →