The 2024 MESA National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC) brought together some of the brightest young minds from across the country in San Diego on June 24-27. With the theme “Designing for Equity Locally to Affect Sustainability Globally,” this year’s event encouraged students to create innovative solutions that address local issues while considering global sustainability. MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) is renowned for its dedication to empowering educationally disadvantaged students and equipping them with the skills and opportunities to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.
Felicia James, a MESA alumna and project manager at Carollo Engineers, captured the significance of this initiative:
“There’s an urgent need to grow our workforce; there’s an urgent need to solve our changing environment, our changing world. Employers are seeking employees who are going to be their leaders who are going to be the innovators in their organization. NEDC is a great organization to partner with and help cultivate that talent who will be their future employees.”
Carollo was honored to sponsor this impactful event, supporting MESA’s mission to inspire and prepare underrepresented students for successful careers in STEM. Watch the video below to see how the competition unfolded and the remarkable ideas these students brought to life.