Industrial & Engineering Technology: Engineer
Industrial & Engineering Technology
Engineer: Elaine Owens
by Mike Yoshiura
As a junior at McKinley High School, Elaine Owens found she had an innate interest in electronics so she jumped at the opportunity to join the Tiger's Robotics Team. In 1999, the robotics team was in its first year of existence, and the only goal Advisor Milton Lau set for his squad's rookie season was to not place last. "Robotics is really hands on. You learn the basics in school, and in robotics you actually get to apply what you have learned," said Elaine Owens. "Our advisor said as long as we didn't come in last place he would be fine with the outcome."
There's Always A FIRST
The Tigers placed second in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC). More importantly, the event showcased Elaine's ability to get to the bottom of the most tedious, mind-boggling problems. The national competition was launched in 1992, and over the years it has built a reputation for spring boarding the careers of promising engineers and programmers. "Engineers have to be good problems solvers. That's what makes it fun for me."
There were only three other Hawaii high schools participating in the robotics competition that year: Punahou, Waiakea, and Waialua. Mainland teams can consist of up to 60 members, in comparison to the four 20-man teams that represented Hawaii.
The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is recognized as a varsity sport that exercises the brain. Each team has a unified set of rules and specifications, and they have six weeks to put a robot together with a standard "kit of parts." The teams follow the guidelines and they build a robot to be battle tested in a three-day competition created by a committee of professionals in the industry. The first day is a practice run, the second is a qualifier to see which teams will compete in the regional, and the third day features the top eight teams going into an elimination round. "It was the first time I went to the mainland for a competition. It was just like a sporting event with huge crowds, bands, and cheer squads."
School To Work
That same year, Elaine also participated in a School To Work program sponsored by Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO). The six-week internship program turned out to be a foot in the door for Elaine, who started working in HECO's Distribution Planning Department after she graduated from college in 2006.
Nothing Beats Experience
Elaine graduated high school in 2001 with a 3.96 GPA. In the fall she enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) where she majored in engineering. She chose to attend the small five-year college in New York because of their cooperative education (co-op) program. The partial scholarship also helped. "The co-op program gave me the experience I needed to find a job when I came home. I knew I wanted to come back home to find a job."
Co-op programs help maximize classroom lectures and theories, by giving students the real-world experience they need. R.I.T. is a five-year college because the final year is spent fulfilling internship requirements. Co-op programs are a cost-efficient way for employers to scout and recruit young, qualified talent.
New York, New York…
"In high school I wanted to get away. I wanted to see what it would be like to be on my own." Even so, Elaine's biggest adjustment was getting accustomed to the weather on the East Coast. She had never been in temperatures below zero, and the sight of snow was a first for the Hawaii native. Maybe this is why every summer after her sophomore year Elaine would come home to do internship work. As it turned out, internships could be found pretty easily.
"There are a lot of internship opportunities out there. As a student, you need to go out and seek them. You just need to start looking."
Taking Initiative
Her first summer internship was at the Kaneohe Marine Corp Base, where she worked in the Facilities Management Department. Luckily, it was a paid internship, which allowed her to save up some money for her trip back to New York.
In 2005, Elaine started her second internship with HECO in their Distribution Planning Department, which subsequently resulted with her permanently being hired in 2006. "In high school I already had an idea of what I wanted to be. It was just a matter of taking the initiative to get there."
It's a good thing Elaine took the initiative because had she not searched for opportunities in the engineering field, she may not have found her true calling in life.