Girls to Engineering Day Conference Fight Climate Change: “Engineering a Resilient Future”
By: Begimai, Enroot 9th grade student
When during Enroot seminar Mrs. Sandra asked ‘who wants to go to a conference on “Girls to Engineering Day” I raised my hand even when I did not know what’s engineering really means. I just raised my hand because I knew it’s a chance to discover something new for myself. I knew that engineers build and count. This was the only information I knew about engineering. After this trip I know more than I knew before. I learned that engineers are problem solvers. When they work on something, they predict effects. This is an important feature of an engineer. Also I’m glad that members of this event answered the main and important question: what makes an engineer? Curiosity, creativity, teamwork, opportunities, helping others. I understand that I do not have all these features, but I’ll work on it because I need these features even if I’m not an engineer. I need them as a person who wants to improve herself. I think all of us need these features.
Going to this conference was interesting. I do not regret that I participated in this event. We practiced being an engineer. We built a school on a map. We selected relevant materials and thought about price and benefit. That moment I understood how hard is being an engineer because you must to think about many things. If you change one thing, you change other thing as well or sometimes everything. My favorite activity was making a beach. We had to protect a house from big weaves. We thought how to make the house safer. We had some options and we chose the best one. At the end we decorated the house to make it funnier. But I was sad when we destructed the beach and the house. I was sad no long because I won a prize! The prize was a book. In my opinion I won the best thing because a book is the most helpful thing in my life. It gives me knowledge and helps me. I was glad that I went there. I learnt a lot of new things.
Thank You Mrs. Sandra and Girls to Engineering!
Enroot Celebrates Black History Month
By: Adnan, Enroot 12th grade student
Enroot is celebrating Black History Month! We’ve decided to do something different this year. Everyday of February we will post some facts about places that Black people call home and some stories of Black unsung heroes. These places include Africa and the Caribbean, but also Latin America, where many identify as Black. We are hanging these features on a wall where our staff and students can learn new things every day! This wall will be at our Enroot office and in our offices at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and at Somerville High School.
It includes people like Barbara C. Jordan - she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became a national leader of abolitionists. Bessie Coleman was the first licensed African American female pilot. We also learned that more than a million African slaves were brought to Cuba as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade. It is said that 65% of the Cuban population are descendants of slaves. Additionally, Ethiopia was the only country in Africa which never colonized! We are so excited to learn and share more throughout this month in honor of the people and places of Black history.