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Students visit Army Corps, talk careers with recruiters

By Mr. Edward Tom Conning (North America)July 2, 2015

LTC Leskys interacts with student
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Vylius Leskys, Seattle Army Recruiting Battalion commander, interacts with a student from Cleveland High School during a luncheon at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District headquarters, June 9. The luncheon was part of a week-lon... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
SSG Tillinghast talks to group
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Curtis Tillinghast, Seattle Army Recruiting Company recruiter, talks to a group of Cleveland High School students about the Army at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District headquarters, June 9. The students attended a career fai... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, SEATTLE DISTRICT, Wash. -- Seventeen high school students visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District headquarters for a week to learn more about careers within the Army Corps of Engineers, Jun. 8-12.

The visit by the Cleveland High School students took four months to plan and included job shadowing, mentoring sessions, a tour of the Hiram Chittenden Locks and a career fair. Lt. Col. Vylius Leskys, Seattle Army Recruiting Battalion commander, and Staff Sgt. Curtis Tillinghast, Seattle Army Recruiting Company recruiter, attended the career fair to offer other insight into Army careers.

"From bridge building and demolitions proficiency to research in seeking a permanent end to Ebola, education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) plays a critical role in the security of our Nation," said Leskys. "This career fair luncheon provided us with a great opportunity to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote STEM opportunities in our Army profession," he said.

Cleveland High School is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-focused school that is located near the Seattle Recruiting Battalion and Seattle District headquarters.

Doris Cope, Seattle District special emphasis team member, helped plan the event and offered the Seattle recruiters time to interact with the students during the career fair luncheon.

"The luncheon was a mini CareerFaire," said Cope. "The primary purpose was to share both military and civilian pathways to the Corps in particular or Federal service in general," she said. "The recruiting staff presented the right amount of information without overemphasizing the recruiting piece."

The Army has a focus on STEM because a workforce with robust STEM capabilities is critical to the success of U.S. military missions. The missions, including contingency operations, warfighter support, civil works and humanitarian assistance, depend heavily on advancements of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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