Aaron Jonckheere, an 11th-grade student attending West Michigan Aviation Academy, wants to be a mechanical or aerospace engineer. Although he hasn’t decided which one to pursue yet, he wants it to 包括他最喜欢的科目:物理.

"I love engineering because it's a practical use of mathematics 还有科学，你就能解决真正的问题。 Jonckheere，来自大急流城.

Students attending WMAA, like Jonckheere, aren't only learning how to become pilots — they're learning how to make planes and other engineering feats thanks to a strong curriculum, which, in part, is 由Grand 谷赞助.

A partnership between Grand 谷 and WMAA, a charter school on the 杰拉尔德·R. 大急流城的福特国际机场， supports students learning STEM disciplines, and focuses on helping teachers develop curriculum and extra-curricular activities, like 第一个机器人. 作为合作的一部分，一名大峡谷大学的毕业生 student assists teachers and students, and the university donated equipment to help 建立学校的第一个制造实验室.

The idea for a partnership began with Michelle Lindale, assistant dean in the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing, when her son 你两年前被WMAA录取了. 

She invited students and teachers from WMAA to visit Grand 谷 正如他们所说，剩下的就是历史了. 

At the partnership signing event in February 2016, President Thomas J. Haas said it's important that the university invests in students 在他们上大学之前.

“我们生活在一个重视创新的社区 entrepreneurship, so it’s only natural for Grand 谷 and West Michigan Aviation Academy to work together to prepare students as they 创造、设计和建造，”他说.

生物医学工程简介

WMAA faculty member Peter VandenBerg, head of the engineering 国务院表示，这种伙伴关系是互利的. 

"We've been able to expose our students to different topics and 这些机会是我们单靠自己无法获得的。. "We asked Grand 谷 professors to look at our engineering 课程设置和确定薄弱环节. 他们花了很多时间 reviewing it, helping us make decisions and refine our curriculum. 这个过程确实巩固了我们的伙伴关系." 

Last summer, WMAA faculty member Stephanie Monroe developed a new course on biomedical engineering that was introduced to students this 秋天. Samhita Rhodes, assistant director of the School of Engineering and chair of biomedical engineering, helped Monroe by providing 指引和方向. 

Monroe expected about 20 students to sign up; she was surprised when 57 students enrolled, including 12th-graders Ashley Bogardus and Avery Balaskovitz. 学生和他们的同学被要求设计 custom shoes for people with arch pain for one group project.

“我学到了很多东西，”来自库珀斯维尔的巴拉斯科维茨说. “这 class has not only taught me about biomedical engineering, but I’ve learned about the design process, business models and how to start a 公司. The material and homework can be hefty, but I really enjoy it.”

Bogardus, from Newaygo, signed up for Monroe’s class because she 想成为一名儿科肿瘤外科医生. 她说这门课很有帮助 her gain a better understanding of how biomedical engineering fits 进入医疗行业.

“It’s been really awesome to be a part of a class that no other 学校提供。”她说. “我已经学会了如何上生物医学课 engineering problem and design something that is tailored to someone’s 具体的需要.” 

门罗现在开设了两门课程. 她说罗兹 洞察力和经验是无价的. “我是不会去的 没有她的帮助，我就照做了，”她说.

Monroe incorporates design thinking into her curriculum and several Grand 谷 student-entrepreneurs have visited WMAA to give presentations. 

“Engineering is driven by the discovery of a solution to a problem. Design thinking simply extends that idea to consider how a design might affect a person’s quality of life as well,” Monroe said. “我们的 students are experiencing so many unique things that come from our partnership with Grand 谷, which not only affords them a more innovative learning experience, but also lends to a growing excitement 有一天会去那里.”

想象力的消失

The GVSU-WMAA partnership includes the support of a graduate 她每周在WMAA工作20个小时. 两年来， Kyle Dinger has filled this role as a For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics coach, and as a teacher.

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to help students come up with new ideas and projects, as well as push them and give them the support 他们需要取得进展。.

VandenBerg said Dinger provides a very diverse set of skills. “在一个 lot of ways, Kyle has almost become another faculty member here, with the advantage that he has an engineering specific degree,” he said.

Dinger, from Grand Blanc, is completing his last year as a graduate 机械工程硕士研究生. 去年，他 协助老师上高级机器人课. 中途 这个班，他接任老师.

丁格计划攻读博士学位. 他开始说 looking at programs, he thought he wanted to teach, purely because of 他在WMAA的经历. 虽然他还在决定该怎么做，他说 当老师还在考虑之中.

“I learned that in order to really understand something, you have to 教它，”丁格说. “这次经历让我感到谦卑，学生们 你很有动力，想要学习吗. 我很高兴能够 与他们互动，给予他们所需的支持.”