(Caption: The World Trade Center towers before Sept. 11, 2001. Twenty-five years later, a new generation is redefining what it means to rebuild America through knowledge, technology and opportunity.)
Three NCUS TEC students reflect on how knowledge, technology and opportunity can help their generation build a stronger America.
Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, America is still living with the consequences of a day that changed the country. For a generation that grew up in its aftermath, however, rebuilding America means more than recovering from what was lost. It means deciding what comes next.
For three NCUS TEC advanced manufacturing students, that future starts with knowledge.
Mathius Ngunyi, who was living in Cameroon when 9/11 occurred, sees technology as an opportunity for his generation to make America more efficient and productive, and better prepared to respond when the unexpected happens.
“With the innovation of modern industries and the use of technology is going to help
“I believe the skills we are learning at NCUS TEC will help us to improve an infrastructure that will benefit economies and the country,” said Ngunyi.
(Caption: NCUS TEC Instructor and director, Charles Nabrit, leads students through hands-on advanced manufacturing training, helping prepare the next generation to build, maintain and strengthen America’s infrastructure.)
Artificial intelligence, automation and other technologies can help America and its companies save time and money, but someone must operate them.
“Our generation plays a huge part in controlling AI to make things more efficient,” Ngunyi said.
For Shaquille Samuels, who remembers 9/11 as a child growing up in Columbus, rebuilding America also means reconsidering who gets to build it.
“America is a country of immigrants,” said Samuels. “How you look or where you come from should not be a factor to access education and the technology to help shape the country.”
Samuels believes people in underserved communities should have the opportunity to contribute to building the future.
That opportunity is reflected at NCUS TEC, where students are developing the technical skills needed for America’s evolving workforce.
Samuel Cunningham, who was born in 1998, five years after the other two students, could only recall the videos and pictures he saw of 9/11 as a teenager and an adult.
Today, he wants to use the skills he received at NCUS TEC to make buildings and America’s infrastructure last.
He wants to build more “secure and sturdier buildings.” Cunningham, and the others, mentioned the generational divide in how knowledge is shared. Gatekeeping can kill progress and innovation, and that is something three students said they refuse to do.
“Our generations will learn and understand the technology and pass it along,” said Cunningham. Samuels agreed by saying their generation will serve as a bridge for future generations to continue building America.
(Caption: Mark Waterstreet works one-on-one with an NCUS TEC student on fiber optics training, passing down the skills and knowledge the next generation will need to keep America connected and moving forward.)
The students credited NCUS TEC, the school’s instructor and director, Charles Nabrit, and dean of advanced manufacturing, Mark Waterstreet, for sharing their knowledge and experience to help students prepare for careers.
“NCUS TEC is looking for people to teach and share knowledge with,” said Samuels.
The three students believe the skills they are learning is a form of service to help build a stronger America.
Twenty-five years after 9/11, NCUS TEC students are building America for what is next.
“When we complete our programs and graduate, we are going to take the knowledge we learned here [NCUS TEC] to help rebuild America,” said Ngunyi.
