Reno High School Students Learn Engineering Skills For Future Careers

The Washoe County School District (WCSD) is celebrating Career and Technical Education (CTE) month in February, offering the community an opportunity to learn about the vast variety of programs and resources available to help students explore their talents and prepare for high-skill, high-paying, in-demand careers after graduation.

In Karl Kuhles’ Engineering class at Reno High School, students spent Monday morning building a hydraulic lift system using various size syringes, tubing, and water as the hydraulic medium. They investigated the efficiency of the mechanical advantage of their hydraulic systems and compared their predictions to real life behavior.

“I do hope to become an engineer one day,” said sophomore Beckett Delong. “I don’t know right now whether mechanical or electrical, or how far down that road I’m going to be. But right now, I’m just enjoying learning about it, and hopefully one day going to college and studying it.”

“I think the most valuable thing I’ve learned is problem solving,” said senior Emily Gleason. “You have to find the problem, fix the problem, and find a new way to improve it and make it better. If you think something is really hard, just work through it and enjoy it.”

“CTE is special because of the emphasis on hands-on learning,” said Kuhles. “The beauty of CTE is that students get to see exactly what they’re learning, and why they are learning it. We did some theory on the board, we did some practice problems and some worksheets, but then they see exactly how it’s applied in the hands-on projects.”

More than 8,000 WCSD students are currently enrolled in courses in healthcare, education, construction and other skilled trades, business, engineering, IT, forensic science, fire science, aviation, performing arts, culinary arts, manufacturing, military science, and much more.

Click here for more information about CTE programs in the Washoe County School District.