[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOSIAH: Do you want me to just tell the joke?
OK.
A pessimist thinks the glass is half empty.
An optimist thinks that a glass is half full.
But an engineer just thinks that the glass is twice
as big as it needs to be.
[GIGGLES]
Now what happens if you go all the way?
My name is Josiah Roberts.
I'm 21 years old.
I was home-schooled all the way through high school.
My mother taught me the majority of what I know.
Hi, Mom!
[GIGGLES]
I wasn't really sure of myself, so I
decided that I'd rather start off at a community college
where I could see what my potential was.
And I ended up deciding that I wanted
to be a mechanical engineer.
STUDENT 1: And that ain't no 19 inches.
So we have 3/4 of an inch that it can stick over.
So where are we going to mount it to?
Are we going to mount it to one of these cross braces?
JOSIAH: The major function of the chair is
to raise up to transfer a patient in and out of bed
with minimal effort to the caregiver and the patient.
There we go.
STUDENT 2: It's a wheelchair that will be able to transfer
a patient from their wheelchairs to their beds.
JOSIAH: The major reasons why we're building this chair
is not only for the patient, but it's for the caregivers,
because there are nurses or medical professionals that
are constantly transferring patients in and out of bed
from wheelchairs.
And there are many injuries.
In the fall of 2009, there was this program
that's starting up.
And they want engineers from community colleges
all over Connecticut.
PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR: This particular projectis part of a National Science
Foundation-funded grant that's part of the Advanced Technology
Education initiative.
I'm really proud of Connecticut to be the recipient of funding
that has established a center for next generation
manufacturing.
And the project like for like Support and Sustainable Living
really is a supporting initiative.
JOSIAH: The solo transfer wheelchair project
was one of the projects that LSSL had given to us.
LSSL is the Life Support and Sustainable Living Program.
It's basically a collaboration of the community colleges
and other universities in Connecticut,
where the engineering students will get together in groups
and work as teams to complete projects.
PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR: Leadership has to come from community colleges.
I think it gives you a real leg up as
to whether you decide to pursue a job immediately
after your associate's degree, go on
to a four-year university, or maybe do a combination of both.
JOSIAH: You start off in high school.
And you're like, am I ready for college?
It's going to go on top here.
Am I smart enough?
What is my potential?
Am I ready for a job?
Can I actually work at a company?
Can I design a part if it's placed in front of me
and they say to design it?
PROGRAM COORDINATOR: We try to simulate an actual on-the-job experience.
JOSIAH: It helped me get a little more
comfortable with my actual knowledge, my ability.
Because there was nothing out there similar to this project,
we had to come up with our own method of doing this.
MAN: How do we stop this from just sliding down?
JOSIAH: We started to actually come up
with designs on SolidWorks.
Two hand pulls for those screws.
I've been known to miss meals, to forget about life,
forget about events that were happening,
just because I was so focused on working on the project
and working-- and getting the model to actually work.
Once you get started in it, it, just sucks you in
and you just want to see it finished.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Almost 100% of the community
college students that have participated in this program
have gone on to matriculate into four-year degrees.
JOSIAH: After I finish up this semester
at Naugatuck Valley Community College,
I've been accepted into Central Connecticut State University
into the mechanical engineer and technologies program.
Going through this project, it's given me
the ability to realize that, hey, I
can come up with a design.
I can work as a team.
I can do all these things.
And it's really giving me a better focus
on what my true potential is.
Or wait, yeah.
OK.
Most people think that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers think that if it ain't broke,
it doesn't have enough parts.
[MUSIC PLAYING]