SAN ANTONIO – High school engineering classes have come a long way, and the students of today are taking advantage of modern technology, which has allowed them to get ahead of the game.
At Highlands High school, sophisticated computer programs allow students to use a 3D printer to create parts they invent.
"It's honestly really fascinating," said Fabrizio Felix, a Highlands senior. "We have all this technology where we could literally just think of something and design it into the computer and just change it into different formats, print and you have the part in your hands."
Computer programs can even detect design flaws in the parts using different materials.
"You can test it to see how strong it is, where it will fail and the stress points," Felix said.
Felix's goal is to one day build engines and transmissions for Formula One race cars.
Felix's classmate, Alyssa Flores is vying for the top spot in the senior class. She plays softball now but one day hopes to build cities or rockets.
"To be able to say that I help have a piece in us going to Mars or having space exploration is leaving a legacy, and that is what I want to do," Flores said.
At Veterans Memorial High school, Caraline Mitchell is working on her leadership skills. She has spent her high school career getting out of her "bubble," as she described it, with the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, better known as JROTC. She's moved up the ladder to become a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander.
"I have a lot of confidence now. If I didn't go through this, I would still be shy and not talking to anybody," said Mitchell, a senior who wants to be an orthodontist.
Her classmate, Junior Maj. Kayla De La Rosa, has more than a year and a half to continue her goals.
"I want to develop my leadership skills," De La Rosa said.
She said her confidence continues to grow through JROTC. She'll need that confidence when she joins and the Army after college with the hope of studying to become a brain surgeon.