REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Dec. 5, 2023) – Once again, Redstone Arsenal engineered a day of adventure for local students.
After a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 300 Tennessee Valley high school juniors and seniors from 23 area schools and homeschool organizations returned to tour the installation as part of Adventures in Engineering, sponsored by the Air, Space, and Missile Defense Association. The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center has long supported the initiative and its Prototype Integration Facility served as a main stop for the visiting students.
For Sparkman High School student Collin Campbell, it was more than a field trip, but a potential pivotal moment for his future.
“I am interested in career opportunities,” Campbell said. “Find myself -- find what I enjoy.”
The PIF was created in the wake of 9/11 to provide rapid engineering solutions to Soldiers in Afghanistan. In its two decades in existence, it has expanded its scope to meet the Department of Defense’s rapid prototyping needs, as warfare continues to modernize.
Madison County High School teacher Rhonda Pearsall says that touring facilities like the PIF is an opportunity for her students to get hands-on exposure beyond what is learned in the classroom.
“It gives them an opportunity to see, ‘What’s next?’” Pearsall said.
The day began and ended at the University of Alabama in Huntsville with the students boarding buses to different locations on the arsenal. It concluded with presentations from university engineering professors of what engineering students experience during their time in college.
For chaperone Tracey Wimberley, who accompanied the Excalibur Christian Homeschool, visiting the installation was an opportunity for the kids to start formulating what their future could look like.
“You hear about mechanical engineering, but what exactly does a mechanical engineer do?” she said.
The PIF was happy to answer that question with a variety of subject matter experts on hand to talk to the kids. While many of the students’ first question was, “How can we obtain an internship?” for the PIF’s Loren Vigil, who helped organize the visit, the day was not just about engineering, but also about building relationships, as those are what can help a young person gain opportunities.
It was also about expanding horizons as the speakers impressed upon the kids that the Army is not just Soldiers – and it is not only STEM careers either. PIF project manager Jessica Schock advised the kids to think bigger, that the Army needs a variety of skill sets and encompasses numerous career fields.
“You name it, you can do it,” she said.
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The DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the Army’s research and development focal point for advanced technology in aviation and missile systems. It is part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. AvMC is responsible for delivering collaborative and innovative aviation and missile capabilities for responsive and cost-effective research, development and life cycle engineering solutions, as required by the Army’s strategic priorities and support to its Cross-Functional Teams.
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