We Energies employees help students engineer cities of future

On the heels of National Engineers Week, kudos to those who are inspiring the next generation of engineers. Several We Energies employees, including Sue Clausing, Tony Militello and Greg Schroeder, volunteer their time with Future Cities, an organization that encourages students to be motivated in science, technology, engineering and math and other 21^st-century skills.

Clausing’s Future Cities team participated in a national competition in Washington, D.C., Feb. 17 to 20. The team prepared for their time in D.C. by presenting their project at the National Engineers Banquet in Milwaukee at the Italian Community Center Feb. 15.

The St. Alphonsus team at the regional competition in January.

Clausing and her husband, Kevin Walsh, mentor a Future Cities team from St. Alphonsus School in Greendale, Wisconsin. Their group of six eighth-graders was the only Wisconsin team invited to nationals. They earned their spot by winning a regional competition at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in January.  

The St. Alphonsus team designed a city called “Sedai” which means “generations” in Japanese. That was consistent with the competition theme, which encouraged teams to design a senior-friendly city 100 years in the future.

The team working on their model.

Clausing’s team earned special honors for “Best Project Plan.” The students used SimCity to create a virtual city, did research, conducted interviews, wrote an essay, created a physical model and presented at regional and national competitions to panels of judges.

“The program is really great because it exposes students to different STEM fields, project planning, and presentation and research skills,” said Clausing.