Malvern students interested in engineering had an opportunity to witness the field first hand at the McKean Defense group on April 14. A tour of the facilities and of the USS New Jersey was arranged by Eric Moore ‘02 and Mr. Aaron Brady, the Director of Experiential Learning.
The opportunity first presented itself at a casual meeting on a February 25 in the top floor of Sullivan Hall. Among the attendees were Brady, Moore, and Mr. Kevin Quinn, Science Department chair. Moore gave a presentation covering the aspects of his career as an individual and the facets of his company, McKean Defense. He also covered his extensive military background and shared a few stories with the group present.
With Moore’s help, Brady scheduled a follow-up tour of McKean Defense’s facilities as part of the Experiential Learning program.
“We drove down to McKean Defense which is in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The first part of the day was spent listening to and learning from the engineers and graphic design team,” said participant Tait McGlinn ‘16. “From there we went to Camden to tour the USS New Jersey where we got to see the engine rooms and some cool behind-the-scenes stuff we couldn’t see otherwise.”
McGlinn believes the trip was a great learning opportunity. “The engineers were great and happy to answer all of our questions. It was definitely cool to see what they have been doing over the past years transferring from written designs on huge pieces of paper to CAD or computer animated designs. They talked a lot about how important it is for an engineer to be able to know what will work and what will not before expending too much time and money on a project,” he said.
“It was also great to see a general reassurance of the things I’ve been learning in Physics this year,” said McGlinn.
“I think it’s is very important for students who are interested in engineering to try and continue to have a relationship with this company. I believe it will serve us very well in the future to have this experience that many others are not fortunate enough to have, and to hopefully go on more trips with McKean,” said McGlinn.
Brady is happy to stay connected with the company. However, he does not want to stop at only one.
“This is just one of many future trips we would like to schedule for our students,” said Brady. “We want to continue to increase involvement of our students in these programs,” said Brady
Many alumni, like Moore, have opened up similar opportunities for students to see the world outside the classroom.
“The alumni network at Malvern is a future blessing for our students,” said Brady. “Every alum that I meet wants to help the students here in any way that they can. we are truly fortunate to attend a high school with this kind of alumni support. It is very rare.”
McGlinn echoed Brady’s gratitude. “None of this would’ve been possible without the help of Mr. Carlini and Lt. Moore who have these connections to Malvern. I want to thank them for giving us the opportunity to be a part of such a big trip and a great experience,” said McGlinn.
