This Sunday, Totino-Grace seniors who are a part of the E3 Program will be presenting their Capstone projects to the public at Totino-Grace high school.

Throughout the summer and first semester, seniors who are partaking in the E3 program were assigned a capstone project of their choosing. Through extensive work, these seniors created a multitude of practical projects which solve real-world problems. Some of these projects are not limited to, but consist of: the Fingerprint Locker by Nick Schutz and Mason Schuler, the Pulse Sensor Bracelet by Caitlyn Tigner and Abby Palma, the Innovative Mailbox Security System by Adam Vettel and Daniel O’Dea, and the Automatic Sun Reflector by Kyle Palermo. The Capstone project allows seniors in their final year of the E3 Institute to take a concept of what they want to create, and continue on through the process of manufacturing their invention to completion. This process includes not only the creation and presentation of the project, but the designing, testing and modifying to produce the final product.

This project is supervised under the two directors of the E3 program Mr. Dan Vandermyde and Mr. Matt Thibodeau. The Totino-Grace Engineering Institute engages and challenges students with strenuous curriculum focusing on engineering through in class and out of class experiences. Components of the institute include: college-prep curriculum consisting of an emphasis on Math and Science, critical thinking, public speaking skills and collaborative projects with peers. The requirements of three semesters of Math and Science, as well as Engineer-specific coursework allows for students to take classes which advance them in the field of engineering and cater to their interests. Other opportunities are seminars and enrichment activities outside of the classroom, mentorship opportunities which allow students to learn from professionals in engineering careers, internship and field-experience allowing first hand experience in a variety of engineering based areas, co-curricular activities centered around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), the Capstone project, which showcases the seniors experience in the field of engineering, and global perspective through engineering connections.
The E3 program is composed of a variety of students based on different skills, interests, backgrounds and abilities. It is here in this program that these students harness and use these traits towards the furthering of their engineering capabilities. In addition to the implication of skills into the program, students also develop skills, such as: creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, ability to build and construct models, computer aided drafting, coding, and many more. The seniors, who through their years in the program have developed many of these skills, have put them to work through the creation of their projects. Kyle Palermo describes E3 via email as a “Program that attempts to guide each student on a path to become an engineer.”