Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1454922
100 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2022 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE "I changed my major from an industrial engineer to a manufacturing engineer and this change suited me better," he said. "I learned what I wanted to do in the factory, and I was able to identify that before I was pigeonholed into something I wouldn't enjoy for the rest of my life. e second most valuable thing I learned was that I was able to work with industry experts that were in the industry for 10, 20, 30 years who became mentors to me." Chance Tiner added that hands-on experience and projects add value to a resume and that any form or qualification in computer science would be extremely valuable or beneficial in terms of career opportunities today. Perhaps even more impactful, the students were able to engage with industry professionals during the roundtable career discussion where they had the opportunity to engage with IPC's Emerging Engineers, mentors, and industry rep- resentatives. Several students asked questions to a diverse group of industry professionals who provided answers, oen prompting other pro- fessionals in the room to share their experiences. e IPC Design Booth was a prominent stop on the show floor tour and representatives from Altium and Upverter Education educated the students on PCB Design. e students and teachers also had the opportunity to learn more about the PCBeeChange Student Design Competition as the winners of the high school and college/university divisions were showcased at the booth. To learn more about the winners, click here. e student participation and awards were made possible through the generous support of our event sponsors: TTM Technologies, CAES, DigiKey, Google, Mycronic, and I-Con- nect007. In-kind donations were made pos- sible by Nano Dimension, Novagard, Omron, Zestron, Kyzen, and Chemcut. We are truly grateful for their support and participation in the day's activities. is event was also made possible by the wonderful support of many volunteers who gave their time to be there for the students. e IPC Emerging Engineers and IPC Emerging Engineer Apprentices, IPC staff, and industry representatives volunteered during the soldering activity, roundtable career discussion, and ushered the students on the IPC APEX EXPO show floor. IPCEF donated $1,000 to e3 Civic High School along with three soldering stations, rulers, and Innovation text- books sponsored by DigiKey to encourage sol- dering and STEM activities in the classrooms. One of the students of e3 Civic High School thanked IPC and the IPCEF for this event on behalf of the scholars in attendance saying, "ank you so much for having this event. It was the best day ever and we enjoyed the expe- rience very much." e students and teachers le feeling inspired. We believe that we planted the seeds of the possibility for an emerging workforce to consider the electronics manu- facturing industry a viable career path. We look forward to hosting more students at the 2023 STEM Outreach Event. S&T Charlene Gunter du Plessis is senior director of the IPC Education Foundation.