Iron Range Engineering

End of the semester

The fall semester is winding down at IRE, with only two weeks remaining stress levels are high among the majority of the students.  Students are working to finish up all their competencies and most of all their semester project.  It is time for students to start applying for jobs and/or internships for the upcoming summer, if they have not already.

Competencies are to be completed by the end of next week and all that remains for the semester is to present the projects to the rest of IRE as well as the clients and for each student to complete their final oral exam on a specific engineering system.  "The expectations of an IRE graduate are that they are professional, technical, designers, project managers, and learners."  Each student is asked to prepare and practice a presentation describing their abilities in the mentioned areas.  An engineering system of expertise is chosen by each individual and asked to identify and clearly explain all of the components, functions, and engineering principles.

Once a student has completed all of their tasks for the semester, their month long winter vacation begins!  The majority of the students will be returning in the spring to continue their learning along with a number of new students beginning the program, but four students will not be returning.  These four students will be graduating at the end of this semester and their life in the work force begins. 

Written by:  Danielle Goebel
Proofread by:  Mike Carlson