CEAT STUCO creates new program focused on local government and community involvement
Friday, March 8, 2024
Media Contact: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2669 | desa.james@okstate.edu
The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Leadership in Our Community And Local-Government (LOCAL) is a program with an objective to provide CEAT students with an understanding of local government operations, encourage active engagement and demonstrate how engineers can contribute meaningfully to their communities.
The spring semester program divides its meetings into two components. Half are lecture- or discussion-based and the other half are field engagement.
Examples of the discussion topics are community leadership, voting and registration, and an engineer's role in the community.
The students attended a city council meeting to meet and learn how engineers can interact with their city officials. They also visited the nonprofit organization, Our Daily Bread, to learn more about how to make an impact in their community. LOCAL has a field engagement trip to the water treatment plant scheduled for later this semester.
Students in CEAT LOCAL are also working on hypothetical projects to make Stillwater better. In these case studies, they meet with community leaders from the city to gain real insight into the needs of the city and how the applications of their projects could help.
CEAT STUCO President Grace Hendrix said the goal for the program is that wherever CEAT students end up after graduation, they can work to transform their community into a better place.
“It's about connecting their education to being a contributing citizen in the real world,” Hendrix said.
“Upon graduation, students are not only developed in their class education but also know how to apply those things to the real world and be leaders in their community.”
Dr. Ed Kirtley, associate dean of engineering extension said the students in the first class are amazing and that many of them are already active with local charities and are contributing to Stillwater.
“All the students have grabbed ahold of the importance of being engaged in the community,” Kirtley said. “My hope is that they will carry this excitement to whatever community they land in following graduation. Most of all, my hope is they are learning they can make a positive difference in the life of a community and the people who live there.”
Kirtley said that the program provides Oklahoma State University students the opportunity to see how local government works, what it takes to contribute to a thriving community, the role of engineering in maintaining the infrastructure, and why engaged citizenship is so important to democracy at every level.