RICHMOND, Va., March 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebration of National Engineers Week, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) employees in the Richmond area traveled to three local high schools to speak with students about careers in engineering and inspire them to get involved in the engineering field.
The volunteers, Richmond-based employees supporting Northrop Grumman's Information Technology Infrastructure Partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, spoke at Lloyd C. Bird High School, Hopewell High School and Matoaca High School.
"The engineers who visited my classroom were super and the students were both surprised and enthralled by how down-to-earth and approachable they were. The students were also enthused by the engineer's discussion regarding the diversity of engineering career fields available to them," said Steve Wagner, engineering instructor at Lloyd C. Bird High School. "As an instructor, I appreciated their focus on innovative thinking, the future of information technology and the importance of continual education."
During the classroom discussions, the employees described how they became engineers, what engineers do and answered questions about how students can get engaged in the engineering career path. Students were also invited to take a future tour of the Northrop Grumman facility and data center in Chester, Va., to provide first-hand experience with the missions engineers support on a daily basis.
"My exchange with the future engineers was truly invigorating," said David Hartings, Northrop Grumman facilities manager, who led one of the classroom discussions at Hopewell High School. "My only hope is they found it as enjoyable as I did."
Northrop Grumman has more than 650 employees in the greater Richmond area supporting the Information Technology Infrastructure Partnership between Northrop Grumman and the Commonwealth, which is overseen by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, as well as other information technology projects for the U.S. federal government.
National Engineers Week is promoted each year by the National Engineers Week Foundation to celebrate the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. National Engineers Week was conducted in February, under the theme of "Celebrate Awesome."
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cybersecurity, C4ISR, and logistics and modernisation to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.