What Inspired Me to Be An Engineer

The Dallas Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) has a contest for Engineer"s Week.  I entered the following.  Winner will be in the Dallas Morning News.

My early introduction to engineering happened during one of the grand challenges of engineering – the Apollo space program.  The program demonstrated to all the power and opportunity embedded in creativity and innovation.  We as a nation learned that engineers are the gatekeepers of creative thought and the designers and builders of tomorrow and the tomorrows to come.  We learned that engineers deal with failure and complexity while achieving success and significance.  We learned the traditions of logic and reason.  We learned that engineers are smart, purposeful, and driven.  We learned that engineers can be stubborn on vision but flexible in detail.  We learned the incredible satisfaction of doing what has not been done.  We learned the societal value of talented engineering teams working together.  We learned that our work is never done and challenges in the areas of energy from fusion, access to clean water, improving urban infrastructure, engineering better medicines, and securing cyberspace still await.  And finally we learned that engineers are optimists and being optimistic is  a great thing for the United States and global community.  What I learned was that I wanted to be a part of this engineering family and community.