Hi, Laura, Thanks so much for your fabulous blog. I had never thought of the problems involved in labeling ourselves as "geeks" or "nerds," at least not in any conscious way, before reading your blog. Your comment that we have no trouble celebrating athletic qualities or physical beauty reminds me how much time and effort we spend in high schools on football rallies and electing homecoming kings and queens. Perhaps the time has come to honor intellectual brilliance by spending equal time holding rallies for our school’s chess and debate teams, and awarding varsity letter sweaters to our science fair winners.

Hi, TC. Thanks so much for your very inspiring message! It is clear the engineering is not for the faint-hearted; but it IS for people who care about the well-being of others, and who are willing to learn and trust in their own capabilities. I would like all of my students to read your story.

I've found that using an emergency scenario as the context for a design challenge makes a big difference for some students. One of the important attitudes that we'd like students to acquire is that STEM is useful, not just for society in general, but for them in particular. I've had students say "Hey, this is really great. I know how to purify water using just what I can find around the house in case there's an earthquake and water is no longer coming out of the tap." You've listed some great resources, Beth!

Thanks for your fabulous blog, Amy! When I looked at the picture of you and your dad I remembered that I also loved building sand castles with all sorts of roads, ramps, and bridges. My mother told me that I should think about becoming a civil engineer—someone who designs buildings and bridges. For the next 30 years I thought that was the only kind of engineer that there was, so I missed out on the opportunity to really explore my options. Happily I pursued my interests in science, so that now I can teach engineering; but by visiting that classroom and sharing the many different types of things that engineers do, you and your fellow Fellows opened many more doors for these students.