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Two local freshmen to attend Summer Engineering Academy in Hawaii

Two local high school students will be attending a 7-week Summer Engineering Academy (SEA) from June 9 to July 25 this year. Adrian Baqui, a Freshman at Nu’uuli VocTech High School and Josiah Taani, a Freshman at Leone High School, will be going through the program at the Honolulu Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

The two young men — who found the applications for the course online, and went ahead and applied — will be exploring the engineering fields related to micro-robotics, microprocessor programming and 3-D printing.

 

During the program, the primary engineering fields that will be explored are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, product engineering and mechatronics. The program will also take them on field trips to the Pearl Harbor engineering sites as well as the University of Hawaii Engineering Department for additional exposure to the engineering field, according to program material.

 

The program consists of 60 participants from Hawai’i, with this being the first time that students from American Samoa will be attending. Included in the activities will be a stay on a ranch in Kualoa for team building and leadership exercises.

 

One of the best parts about this program for our local students is the fact that — with the Hawaii P-20, College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) and matching contributions from Honolulu Community College — the cost is covered for the SEA without the need for a student registration fee.

 

Samoa News spoke with both students, who were excited about their upcoming trip and the world of engineering in which they will be immersed.

 

“I'm going to try and pursue any field that deals with electronics. I am very excited and proud to be accepted to this program to better both my academics and tradesman side. I am humbled by this opportunity to learn about the exciting field of electronics that they are going to provide us,” said Baqui.

 

Taani said, "This is a great open door for me to learn about electronics," adding, "This is my first time going off island and I know it will be a great learning experience. I want to thank God for this opportunity He has given me."