Where are they now? Cordova grad designs a career in engineering
Prior to entering Cordova High School, Evelyn Delgado’s career blueprint was a work in progress.
“Ever since I was little, I loved drawing,” Evelyn says. As a child, Evelyn stared at buildings, learning to sketch their architectural features. “I looked into becoming an architect, but I was always drawn to engineering.”
At Cordova High School, Evelyn had the opportunity to explore engineering and, along the way, found a passion for a career and a muse in the Eiffel Tower.
Now, as a 19-year-old in her third semester at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), Evelyn attributes Cordova High School’s Engineering Polytechnical Academy with starting her on a career path.
Exposed to a variety of engineering disciplines — construction management, digital electronics, and civil engineering — Evelyn discovered a passion for the latter during a class project to design a truss bridge.
“What I loved about that project, yeah, it was applied physics, but it was all hands-on,” she says. “We got balsa wood, built the bridges, and used a stress test machine to see where the bridge broke when applying force.”
A few science fair projects followed and Evelyn joined the school’s ACE Mentor Program, where she led her team in designing their own version of the Golden 1 Center. Through the architecture, construction and engineering program, students were connected with relevant industry, community and business members to work through design challenges and learn about careers in their field. The team’s completed design for the Golden 1 Center earned Evelyn college units toward her major.
After graduating from Cordova High School in 2015, Evelyn chose CSUS for its engineering program, proximity to her family and the campus diversity. Majoring in Civil Engineering, Evelyn discovered she was a step ahead in her engineering software skills.
“[In high school] we worked on Autodesk Inventor — software that creates 3-D versions of what we’re designing — and it really helped the transition to AutoCAD the first year at Sac State.”
While Cordova High School helped Evelyn explore her career options, find her passion, and equip her with applicable skills, it’s what she plans to do with her experience that’s the most structurally sound.
“I look forward to designing structures people can enjoy with their family,” Evelyn says. “Bridges, things that everyone can enjoy walking or biking on.”
As for the Eiffel Tower, the love that started it all, “I haven’t had a chance to see it in person,” Evelyn says. “But I plan to take French classes, become fluent and study abroad.”