Future City Educator helps kids reach for their careers

Nicole Penn has volunteered as an educator in Future City's North Carolina region since 2011.

“The Future City program is a way to introduce kids to engineering,” she says. “The support from the national level of the competition has all the assets teachers need to facilitate the competition. It’s a great program that all kids can afford to participate in.”

Nicole knows firsthand the value Future City brings to students beyond the classroom. “In Greensboro, North Carolina, the Future City Competition gives students a chance to travel and explore, which not many have. They also get to meet real local engineers which shows them that engineering is a career that is in their reach.”

Nicole enjoys seeing how Future City brings out her students’ imaginations. “Most core classes are very structured. Future City allows students to be creative and think outside the box while they build the city that they envision together. It also helps to build their confidence, because by the end of the program they are speaking like engineers.”

Nicole encourages other teachers to sign up to volunteer for the program. “This program is so well organized, all of the resources you need are right at your fingertips, which makes it very easy for teachers to implement the program.”