“The whole grade learned to
think like engineers.”
— Travis Ward, 6th Grade Teacher
No one becomes an engineer alone. It takes exposure, encouragement, role models, and room to explore. At ESD, we are building those pathways—early, consistently, and with purpose.
One way we are doing that is with ESD’s Future City Competition, which matches students with engineer mentors and challenges them to design a city of the future. The program grew more than 30% this year, engaging over 2,200 students across the state.
At Leon W. Hayes Intermediate School in Grand Ledge, for example, every sixth grader—360 students—spent Fridays imagining and designing a future city. Classrooms became studios with math, science, and technology all connected.
Experiences like these change lives.
One student shared, “You don’t think about what goes into making a city. But once you build one, you see things differently. You feel like, ‘I made this.’”
ESD invests in students beginning in sixth grade and supports them through their college experience. Contributions go directly to these outreach programs:
- Future City Competition for grades 6-8
- Girls and Boys in Engineering Academies for grades 6-12
- Scholarships of $2,000 each to high school and college students
- Student Chapters at 14 Michigan universities
