Introduction
Hello, my name is John Eunis. I am a senior at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence RI. I was originally suppose to go to Johnston High but I decided toward the end of 8th grade year that I was going to start taking my school work more seriously. I went to The Met to start off on a clean slate. I also did so to get away from my distracting friends. It was probably the best decision I have ever made. My high school is all about finding your true passion, and learning through hands-on experiences. My school, being the way that it is, gave me the chance to explore my interests through real world opportunities, such as through internships, like the one I had freshman year, fixing single engine airplanes for the T.F Green airport flight school. I spent my high school career taking advantage of all sorts of opportunities to help give me an idea of what I want to do after I graduate. I have taken my education seriously throughout the last four years and have realized that my passion is science. Nothing fascinates me more than learning about the science behind space exploration. I want to be able to pursue this passion after high school and hopefully make a career out of it. I have decided that I want to explore the field of Aerospace Engineering through college because my dream is to one day be a part of NASA and play a significant role in the age of space exploration. This is my dream and I plan on giving it my all to succeed in doing so.
Inspiring Minds
I currently intern at Inspiring Minds a non-profit organization located in Providence, RI. There goal is to expose high school students to the various fields within the STEM career cluster through after school programs such as chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and unreal tech. The Inspiring Minds tech center also acts as a study hall, giving students the opportunity to voluntarily come in and get some homework done. They also offer free tutoring in math and science any day of the school week. I participate in their after school programs, whenever I'm not running my own. Being an intern at Inspiring Minds gives me the opportunity to run my own after school programs that pertain to my interests. I ran my own Astronomy workshop at one point. I taught students about different kinds of telescopes and how they work. I also ran a "Build your own refractor telescope workshop and took the students on a field trip to the observatory I volunteer at. I currently run a new program every Thursday with a small group of motivated students, that I call the Inspiring Minds Tech Team. We are working on a High Altitude Weather Balloon Project that we are designing to travel to the edge of the atmosphere to take pictures of the curvature of the Earth before coming back down to the surface for recovery and hopefully re-flight.
When I'm not running my own programs or participating in the others, I spend my time evaluating the program lesson plans for the engineering and technology classes. My job is to make sure each lesson plan follows the Inspiring Minds tech center method. The tech center method is basically a way to make sure students are getting the most out of the programs. All programs must teach a science/ technology based concept in an engaging way. Students should be able to walk away from the program with something new that they have learned and something that they have actually made themselves. The programs also have to address possible career options that pertain to the class as well as colleges that offer majors in that said field.
Taking advantage of resources
One thing that I have done in the past four years is take advantage of many opportunities and resources, whether it benefits me or others. One recent example is working with Brown University on Inspiring Minds' behalf. One day I decided to sit down and talk to one of the tutors at Inspiring Minds. Turns out he was a retired physicist who had graduated from Brown University. We were on the subject of physics for awhile since it is one of my favorite kinds of sciences, but towards the end of the conversation, I started asking him about his experiences at Brown. He happened to mention how he has a bunch of buddies still working in the physics department, so I asked if he could connect me to these professors. I wanted to see if I could create some kind of opportunity for Inspiring Minds' students. I ended up meeting with a physics professor. We talked for awhile about science and school, then he showed me around his lab. By the end of the conversation I have gotten him to agree to arrange a few hands-on demonstrations for the students in the engineering program at Inspiring Minds.
meeting an aerospace engineer
Around the time when I really started getting interested in aerospace engineering I got an e-mail from my principal saying that she was talking to a retired aerospace engineer about volunteering at my school. She asked if I would be interested in meeting him. I seized the opportunity. I was really excited to first meet him. I had so many questions to ask him and expected a lot of good advice in return. His name is Peter Fricano and he helped design the wings to the first space shuttle. I am very fortunate to meet this man. When we first met he told me all about his experiences as a high school student getting ready for college, right up to becoming an aerospace engineer and working for NASA. He gave me a lot of advice on mapping out my future and how I can start preparing myself for college. I wound up meeting with him every single Wednesday for the rest of my junior year. He helped guide my project work and pushed me to go in depth with every science and math opportunity that i took advantage of. He helped me so much in the last year and I can't possibly repay him. He helped give me the motivation to chase my dream.
Farsounder inc
Junior year is when I really started to explore my interest in engineering. I was most curious about electrical engineering at the time and decided to do a project based on this curiosity. When I started the project I didn't have a clue to what I should be learning about, so I started researching basic concepts and frequently asked questions that pertain to electrical engineering. I decided to learn about printed circuit boards and the basic electrical components that work together to perform it's main functions. This project was self driven. I taught myself all about how printed circuit boards work, and the functions of the electrical components that make it up, such as resistors, capacitors, and semi conductors. I was struggling with other areas of the project though. I wanted to make this project more real, not do a bunch of research and present what I learned. I wanted to show what I learned through hands on experiences. I wanted to learn how to solder, and I wanted to learn how to read PCB schematics, so I can build my own little electrical devices with materials and kits from Radioshack. Luckily my principal heard about my project work and put me in contact with the company Far Sounder, where her husband works. Far Sounder is a business that designs, builds, and programs 3 dimensional sonar imaging systems for boats. They put me in contact with their electrical engineer, Matthew Coolidge. I talked to him through e-mail for a couple weeks. I told him all about my project, the areas I was struggling in, and asked him if he had any advice. He invited me to hang out at Far Sounder for the day. He ended up teaching me a ridiculous amount information in just one day. He taught me how to read and wright in binary code. He taught me how to read PCB schematics. He also taught me how to solder and helped me out with a couple Radioshack kits I had bought. The most interesting part of the day is when he taught me all about the kind of circuit boards that he designs for the sonar company. The way he explained and demonstrated things made it all seem so simple. At the beginning of the project I was clueless, than after spending one day at Far Sounder with Matt, I was confident in my project work and ready to present in front of my peers.
Bridge Building Competition
I participated in the bridge building competition at construction career day 2 years in a row. The bridge building competition is a design challenge that requires you to make a sturdy, cost efficient bridge made out of balsil wood. Each piece of balsil wood costs $10,000 and you have a $100,000 budget You also had to have a 5 inch x 5 inch opening for cars and trucks to safely travel through. We chose to make a truss bridge because a truss frame uses geometric principles to make it strong while using a minimum amount of material. Truss bridges get their strength from the rows of interlocking triangles designed on both sides. The geometric principle of the sternness of a triangle relies on the fact that it is not possible to change the angle of a vertex without changing the length of a side and it is not possible to change the length of a side without changing the angle of a vertex. Triangles resist having its shape changed. This is why a row of interlocking triangles is strong and reliable for its size and weight.
Our bridge held the most weight before collapsing at the competition, an unexpected 43 lbs. The next strongest bridge held only 27 lbs. Unfortunately we were disqualified from the competition because a truck couldn't fit through our opening. Our opening was only 1cm too off. So sadly we lost the competition but it was a great learning experience and I enjoyed working in a group for this project.
Our bridge held the most weight before collapsing at the competition, an unexpected 43 lbs. The next strongest bridge held only 27 lbs. Unfortunately we were disqualified from the competition because a truck couldn't fit through our opening. Our opening was only 1cm too off. So sadly we lost the competition but it was a great learning experience and I enjoyed working in a group for this project.
The skyscrapers
I am a member of Skyscrapers Inc. witch is is a group of amateur astronomers who all share a passion for gazing at the stars. There are about 50 or so members including knowledgeable veterans and beginning observers. The group gets together regularly to discuss and learn about the science of astronomy. Their monthly meetings usually feature speakers from one of New England’s top schools, including Harvard, MIT and Brown, and cover topics spanning the fields of astronomy and cosmology. I joined Skyscrapers during the summer of my junior and have been participating in the monthly meetings ever since. I may be the only member under 40 but I enjoy talking to these experienced astronomers about my passion for space. There is a lot I can learn from this community. I plan on continuing to take advantage of this opportunity for as long as I can... I also volunteer at the Seagrave Observatory on Friday nights where I get to help out and share my passion with other amateurs like me.
Astro Assembly
I volunteered at Astro Assembly 2012, an event for astronomers that is from 9:00am- 10:00pm. Even though I spent my morning helping people park, I got to sit in on the lectures and demonstrations for the rest of the day. The theme this year for the 60th annual astro assembly was “Citizen Science” (non specialists helping the professionals to make observations and carry on investigations of scientific projects). There were a few interesting speakers who explored this topic. Three female astronomers working at different Universities on the East Coast shared their passion for science and their important work unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Dr. Carie Cardamone, of Brown University, gave an overview about the many projects that have evolved in Citizen Science from the original Zooinverse and gave details about the discoveries of citizens in “Green Pea Galaxies”. Dr. Meg Schwamb, from the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, described her work with “Planet Hunters”. The main speaker at the evening program was Dr. Bethany Cobb Kung, of George Washington University, who described her work with Gamma Ray Bursts, Supernovae and Cataclysmic Variables.