Senior Angela Wong was one of 22 participants in the University of Hawaii College of Engineering High School Internship Program. Wong attended the program from June 10 to July 19.

Wong worked under the direction of Dr. Wayne Shiroma, chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at UH and three College of Engineering research students.

Wong said, “I got interested in engineering through my participation in Robotics and Real World Design Challenge at Sacred Hearts. I really like designing and building things so when I heard about the opportunity to learn more about the engineering field, I thought it would be a really neat way to spend my summer.”

During the six-week program, Wong spent many hours assembling a mobile ground station where she assisted her mentors in tracking cube satellites. She learned the basics of programming and circuitry, which allowed her to create a compass used during the set-up of the satellite tracker.

Wong also had the chance to visit BAE Systems, Coffman Engineers and Oceanit engineering firms which provided different design activities and the opportunity to speak to engineers.

“Many of the engineers provided me with insight on what their day-to-day working environments are and allowed me the chance to ask questions, something that I really appreciated,” Wong said.

Since there were many interns from schools across Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island, Wong was able to meet other young people who shared her interests in engineering.

Wong ended the program with a final presentation to parents, teachers and faculty members of the university.

“I gained first-hand experience in what it is like to be an engineer, learned how to communicate effectively through writing and presentation workshops and met many new friends since all of the interns came from schools across the state,” said Wong.