The December CTE Partner of the Month is Cisco Systems for their long-standing partnership and support of the Robotics team at Cedar Park High School. Cisco Systems has helped CPHS Robotics by providing mentors for students as well as financial support to the program as a whole.
“It has been very beneficial to our club to have so many young engineer [mentors] around sharing their expertise and perspective,” CPHS Robotics teacher Amy Lovelace said. “Just having them around the room motivates the student to do their best. The students really appreciate their input and their willingness to support us.
Lovelace said the team of five mentors from Cisco Systems are instrumental in helping students look critically at their own work and streamline solutions. The mentors are a mix of electrical, software and manufacturing engineers who each bring a wide breadth of knowledge to students. They have also encouraged the students to maintain ownership of their designs and work while optimizing their time and effort.
“The mentors also share with the students insight of what it takes to be successful in reaching their goals in STEM,” Lovelace said. “It is great exposure and a source of motivation for the students.”
Mentors from Cisco Systems include Shreyas Khanjee, Kevin Mechler, Eric Quach, Danny Dobos and Brandon Dusek. Leander CTE is appreciative of Cisco System and their mentors for investing in our CTE students and programs.
Each month of the 2023-24 school year, the Career and Technical Education department of Leander ISD is recognizing a community partner that has made an exceptional impact on the district’s CTE students or programs. These partnerships are at the core of CTE’s mission to give students valuable, hands-on learning experiences with industry professionals.
