The Engineering Academy this year went through a change in leadership. With Jennifer Westerbeck retiring last year, a new teacher has taken the helm as the person in charge of the Engineering Academy – Lorand Incze. 

Incze has been teaching physics at Alisal for the past 10 years, with the last five years having been partially involved in the Engineering Academy teaching Robotics I and II. As to what he enjoys about the profession, Incze references the real life uses for knowledge gained in science and engineering.

“What they have in common is that once students learn the new skill, they get to apply it in either a lab or project. It’s one of the best ways of learning; practicing what you learn in a hands-on environment,” he said.

However, this year came with a brand new assortment of responsibilities for him, including classes like Introduction to Engineering Design for freshmen, Principles of Engineering for sophomores, Digital Electronics for juniors, and Engineering Design and Development for seniors. Additionally, as the person in charge of the Engineering Academy, Incze manages the finances of the program as well as extracurricular activities that students in the program conduct, such as competitions, field trips to engineering-focused colleges, and internships in engineering. Although this has resulted in a workload increase, he notes that he has managed strong.

“I got used to the role pretty fast and had a general idea of the duties. I was also able to recall the prior experience I had and moved on with them pretty well,” Incze said.

As for how some of the previous engineering students are adjusting, many have taken positively to the change in leadership. 

“Mr. Incze gives a lot of activities that are self-guided instead of just a set of instructions. Most of it is done on your own, but Mr. Incze is always there to help and I really prefer that,” sophomore David Vera said. 

A common theme amongst all students is that Incze has brought in a focus on individual student help.

“We have a lot more lectures and a lot more guidance throughout these projects compared to last year which is something I’ve enjoyed,” senior Liliana Saavedra said.

Nonetheless, Incze mentions that he plans on making changes where needed for his next year leading the Engineering Academy. In planning for the fall, Incze goes through a revision of all the course work throughout the previous year. This includes updating assignments on his pacing guide to better reflect the amount of time each assignment took and going over projects that students took a particular interest to, making minor or major adjustments based on the demonstrated interest each project received. Despite the fact that this is his first year as Coordinator, Incze seems to have taken the role well.

“It is a bit challenging but I really do enjoy the role and what it has had to offer,” he said.