Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1212069
44 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE of the IPC APEX EXPO show floor. The career panel discussion was moderated by Dr. John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. Several stu- dents asked questions to a diverse group of industry professionals who provided answers, often prompting other professionals in the room to share their experiences. Lam Tse, busi- ness development manager at Panasonic, said, "When you are in high school, it's sometimes hard to see what a STEM education translates to in the real world, but IPC does a great job at showing the students what is possible with a STEM-related education by connecting the stu- dents with people in the industry." Kathy Schulze, an engineering teacher at Point Loma High School, shared, "I can't thank you enough for the wonderful event that IPC APEX EXPO put on for the students of San Diego County. My students really enjoyed the event and learned a lot about the industry. I was fascinated by the show floor and all the AI products currently on the market. The whole affair was exceptionally well-organized and very educational." It was wonderful to recognize four of the 23 IPC Student Member Scholarship Winners in person at the event. Fernando Galvez from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Deepak Bondre from the University of Maryland; and Mohamed El Amine Belhadi and Mohammed Abueed from Auburn Uni- versity attended IPC APEX EXPO 2020 for the event. Belhadi serves as the president of his IPC Student Chapter and shared, "IPC scholar- ship inspired and boosted me to accomplish further advanced research in electronics reli- ability for future applications. I will use the funds to acquire more research materials and pay for the PCB design training." The students and teachers left feeling inspired. We believe that we planted the seeds of the possibility for an emerging workforce to consider the electronics manufacturing indus- try a viable career path. S&T Charlene Gunter du Plessis is the senior director of the IPC Education Foundation. Four of the 23 IPC Student Member Scholarship Winners.