Summer may be here, but learning hasn’t stopped at Northwood High School—at least not for the 20 students who participated in Northwood’s certification course for Autodesk Inventor.

As part of their STEM career development offerings, Northwood hosted a free summer course for students in Rapides Parish, where they could gain more advanced skills in Autodesk Inventor. Nineteen of the 20 participants have now completed their certifications in Autodesk Inventor.

On June 16, Beta Continuous Improvement Manager and former substation designer Kyle Arnold visited Northwood. He showed the students how the models they are now capable of creating can be used in the real world and told them more about the possibilities this certification provides them. After introducing Beta Engineering, Arnold provided a high-level look at the electrical grid, presented some of the problems the U.S. will have to solve in the coming decades to power an increasingly electrified world, and showed examples of drawings and 3D models from Beta’s substation design work.

Beta Integrated Design Manager Jonathan McLin, who is based in the New Orleans area, joined the class via video call to explore applications for the virtual building blocks that the students learned to create. The class also learned about the fourth and fifth dimensions of design, looking at how 4D design incorporates time into a model and 5D design adds budget management. Arnold and McLin wrapped up with a discussion about the future of design, from the use of extended reality and augmented reality to how the students’ new skills directly tie to that world.

This summer course is a continuation of a course the students began during the regular school year and marks the first time that Northwood, a rural school where many of the students come from low-income families, has offered advanced classes in STEM. Programs like this provide Northwood students new learning opportunities, give them practical skills when they graduate, and encourage them to pursue what they are passionate about.

As a Northwood alumnus, Arnold is excited to be supporting the mission. “To now have the opportunity to pour back into that school in a way that could impact even one student’s life is worth every bit of effort to me,” Arnold said. “I always hoped that one day I would get the chance to be a catalyst and help give that community more opportunity and a better outlook on the future. Getting involved in this program is starting that journey towards a personal goal in a big way, and I’m so excited that Beta has my back!”