Mentoring Program Seeks to Nurture Connecticut's Young Science Talent

By Brad Drazen

NBC Connecticut

 

Danilo Sena has loved math ever since he arrived here from Brazil 10 years ago.

 

"When I came here to the U.S., the only subject I could get a good grade in was math, because math is the universal language", says the Hartford High School junior.

 

He's a student the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology and is among a group of students taking learning to the next level. The group is part of the mentoring program designed by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. The goal is to give top students a vision of what comes after high school.

 

Abul Islam is an engineer and entrepreneur and is one of more than a dozen local business leaders who donate their time and perspective to instruct and inspire these budding scientists.

 

Business Leaders Help Students

"They have great analytical skills and are smart kids, but they need a vision: How does it happen outside of the corridors, outside the classroom and the relevance", says Islam, President/CEO of AI Engineering Inc. in Middletown.

Islam, along with leaders from local companies such as Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand, and Northeast Utilities, fund technology upgrades, provide internships, and conduct mentoring and tutoring sessions on a weekly basis with the best and the brightest the Academy has to offer.

 

Senior Evron Montague appreciates the direct interaction.

 

"I get a better understanding of what I'm doing because I get an explanation of what I am asking, not the class as a whole", says Montague.

 

The program has a dual benefit. Not only is the business community giving back to the Hartford schools, but they're nurturing the future employees, managers and business leaders of the future.

 

"The next economy, the 21st century job, is a knowledge economy and the place to start is in our high schools", says Islam.

 

Their work has already begun to transform the students' scientific spark into a full-fledged passion for engineering, and if you ask Danilo Sena, the sky's the limit.

 

"In 30 years, I believe it will be the second year of my own company," he predicts.