Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific celebrated National Engineers' Week by participating in an educational community outreach event, Feb. 24, at the Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu.

"This outreach event allows NAVFAC Pacific to present engineering opportunities and information to encourage young people, especially young women, to get into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields," said Capt. Michelle LaDuca, NAVFAC Pacific vice commander.

National Engineers' Week is held Feb. 19-25 and this year's theme is "Dream Big."

The event included 12 NAVFAC Pacific engineer introductions, a presentation about the NAVFAC organization, a movie trailer of the "Dream Big" engineering movie, a trivia competition between the engineers and students, and interactive booth displays that included hands-on activities from various engineering departments.

"We really enjoyed the presentation aspect of the event," said Betty White, Sacred Hearts Academy head of school. "The introduction of the presenters allowed the students to visually see and meet engineers, as opposed to just reading about them or seeing photos."

"In partnering with Sacred Hearts Academy, we are encouraging the students to be inspired, embrace STEM ,and to get out there and make a difference," said Ralph Luca, NAVFAC Pacific chief engineer and Capital Improvements business line manager. "The students are the future of building creativity that may lead to the success of the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy in the future years."

The local outreach event is on its second year at Sacred Hearts Academy and provides a unique learning experience for young students to generate possible engineering fields they could go into when furthering their education. The event also provides the opportunity for NAVFAC Pacific to educate the community on what we do and why we do it.

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