{"id":218359,"date":"2025-07-07T14:01:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=218359"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:01:34","slug":"jesse-engineering-interns-phnsy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/07\/jesse-engineering-interns-phnsy\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi HS<\/abbr> students tackle real-world challenges at UH<\/abbr> engineering summer program"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Sy Shimabukuro, an engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, leads a hands-on activity with JESSE<\/abbr> interns. (Photo credit: Kenny Jones)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 20 high school interns in a University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Engineering<\/a> summer program got a practical look at engineering careers that help support the U.S. Navy\u2019s operations in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

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Engineer Jason Lum walks Mason Domion and Gabriel Edamura through a pressure-volume equation during a collaborative problem-solving session at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. (Photo credit: Kenny Jones)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The visit in June 2025 to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility was part of the Junior Engineers Summer STEM<\/abbr> Experience<\/a> (JESSE<\/abbr>) program—a six-week initiative that allows local high school students to explore science, technology, engineering and math fields while earning college credit. The program introduces the students to hands-on projects and research, while helping them connect with UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Engineering and easing their transition to college life.<\/p>\n

“Our JESSE<\/abbr> interns get to see the opportunities available to them right here at home, the strong partnership we have with the shipyard, and the incredible career growth possible through engineering,” said Kim Perez Hults, director of marketing and outreach relations for the College of Engineering.<\/p>\n

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Intern Rylan Terayama collaborates with fellow students during an engineering design challenge at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard\u2019s and Maintenance Facility. (Photo credit: Kenny Jones)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I learned about the dry dock system and how they cool the submarines that are in there,” said Leonard Cheung, a Kaiser High School student. “The site visits have opened my eyes to the different career opportunities there are for me locally.”<\/p>\n

Troubleshooting challenges, behind-the-scenes tour<\/h2>\n

The day began with an overview in the shipyard\u2019s iLAB Collaboration Room, where students learned about the shipyard\u2019s mission, workforce needs and career opportunities, including Department of Defense-funded programs. Students teamed up with shipyard engineers to solve real-world challenges, such as electrical troubleshooting and cooling system repairs.<\/p>\n

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Russell Risch, an engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Maintenance Facility, discusses design concepts with intern Ethan Chow. (Photo credit: Kenny Jones)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I was pleasantly surprised by the kinds of questions and answers the students gave,” said Matt Cook, an engineer at Pearl Harbor, who also teaches a nuclear energy course through the shipyard\u2019s educational partnership agreement with UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. “I expected to guide them more through the problem, but that wasn\u2019t the case at all. Their answers were thoughtful, and one even asked a question I hadn\u2019t considered myself. I hope what they took away is the importance of asking questions and challenging assumptions, including their own.”<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa partnered with the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility to coordinate the JESSE<\/abbr> visit as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen STEM<\/abbr> outreach and workforce development.<\/p>\n

For more information on the JESSE<\/abbr> program, visit the College of Engineering website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students explored engineering careers and tackled real-world challenges alongside Navy engineers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":218360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[179,182,1466,313,9],"class_list":["post-218359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-engineering","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-stem","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t