Produced by NBC News Learn, the education division of NBC News, in partnership with Chevron, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) “Discovering You” is an original 20-part video series. Each video installment showcases what motivates a diverse group of engineers both academically and professionally, including teamwork, creativity and making a difference in the world around them Aligned to state and national education standards, each video has a downloadable lesson plan for educators to use in the classroom.
If you enjoy these educational series, click here to find out more about NBC Learn’s full digital library of over 22,000 K-12 standards-aligned video and digital resources.”
Emmanuel Rivera is mechanical engineer and human resources representative at John Deere. His work can been seen at the tractor cab assembly operation in Waterloo, Iowa, where massive tractors are put together for farmers around the world.
Taniya Mishra is a speech and artificial intelligence scientist for Affectiva. She is working to make the relationship between humans and technology easier through emotion AI.
Khalia Braswell is a computer scientist and founder of INTech Camp for Girls. After starting as a user experience engineer for Apple, she quit her job and moved to her hometown of Charlotte, NC, to run her non-profit full time.
Corey Baker is an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky. In his lab, students are creating ways to help people communicate during natural disasters when cell phone service is limited and power is knocked out.
Shayna Begay is an aerospace engineer working at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is tasked with updating nuclear weapons systems to make sure they are safe and reliable in the event of a national security emergency.
Patricia Mwove is a computer engineer at Intel in Chandler, Arizona. She is responsible for memory requirements used in vehicle displays, such as navigation, music and communication systems.
Ruwanka Purasinghe is a civil engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He plans, designs and implements projects to ensure residents always have a safe supply of water.
Adebisi Adele is a mechanical engineer at the Chevron El Segundo refinery. Her role is to make sure all of the mechanical equipment is up to code in order to efficiently process crude oil into different products that are used every day.
Melody Shangin is an electrical engineer for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Alaska. She works to maintain and upgrade electrical systems on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the pipeline that transports crude oil 800 miles from the North Slope of Alaska.
Samantha Dominguez is a systems engineer at the Boeing Company in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her work on airplane radar and communication systems helps keep those on the front lines safe in the air.
Jay Brannon is a civil and environmental engineer for the city of Portland, Oregon. She manages construction teams to implement features such as culverts, which help prevent roads from washing away in urban areas.
Nina Tandon is a biomedical engineer in Brooklyn, New York. Her company, EpiBone, helps people by growing bone using a patient's STEM cells.
Yung Koprowski is a transportation engineer in Mesa, Arizona. Her job is to help drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians move around the Phoenix area as safely and efficiently as possible.
Katie Schwertz is an optical engineer at Edmond Optics in Tucson, Arizona. She designs components for different types of optics, such as microscopes and laser beam expanders.
Lane Daley is a chemical engineer working at the Clif Bar Bakery in Twin Falls, Idaho. She designs processes at the bakery to efficiently produce the energy bars.
Victoria Schein is an automotive design engineer for Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. She designs products that will be used in future Ford vehicles to keep drivers safe on the road.
Angelique Johnson is an electrical and biomedical engineer in Louisville, Kentucky. Her medical technology company, MEMStem, LLC, uses automated manufacturing to make cochlear implants more affordable for patients.
Shaesta Waiz is a pilot originally from Afghanistan and currently living in Florida. By engineering fuel tanks to fly further, Shaesta became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine airplane.
Sossena Wood is a bioengineer pursuing her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on improving the detection of brain disease in humans using MRI machines instead of surgery.
Zaida Hernandez-Irisson is an electrical engineer at Fischer, USA, in Racine, Wisconsin. In addition to finishing her engineering degree at the Milwaukee College of Engineering, Zaida also mentors girls in her community.
About NBC Learn
NBC Learn is the educational arm of NBC News dedicated to providing resources for students, teachers, and lifelong learners. The online resources NBC Learn has created for the education community leverages nearly 80 years of historic news coverage, documentary materials, and current news broadcasts. Currently two unique offerings, iCue and NBC News Archives on Demand, give students and teachers access to thousands of video clips from the NBC News archives, including great historic moments--from the Great Depression to the Space Race to the latest political coverage. NBC Learn also offers primary source materials, lesson plans and classroom planning resources, and additional text and image resources from our content partners.
Additional resources
Lessons & Classroom Activities
- Cartoons for the Classroom
- Front Page Talking Points
- This Week in History
- News Video
- Daily Science Webcasts
- Headline Geography
Resources by grade level