Date posted: 12/23/2007*

Recently, representatives from various Raytheon businesses in Texas came together to help promote and represent the company at the 2007 Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) week.

Solving a Staffing Crisis
HESTEC is organized by the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), in conjunction with the office of U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa. The primary objective of HESTEC is to generate interest in the science, technology, engineering and math fields among students, teachers and the community at large.

This initiative links directly with Raytheon’s own desire to promote interest in these fields, to help offset the current staffing crisis in the math and science disciplines. In fact, there are 20 percent fewer engineering degrees being awarded in the United States today than 10 years ago. This means, in 2008, six million jobs will go unfilled across the country because those entering the workforce will not have the necessary science and technology backgrounds. Through its dedication to math and science education initiatives, Raytheon is taking action.

“As a country, we are falling behind countries such as Asia and China in the number of engineers that we graduate each year,” said Lizbeth Guerra, a systems engineer with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS). “By supporting HESTEC, we are supporting [Raytheon Chairman and CEO] Bill Swanson’s efforts in raising awareness of math and science related fields within students at a very early age.”

Spreading the Math Message
Three Raytheon businesses — Network Centric Systems, Intelligence and Information Systems and SAS — conducted breakout sessions focusing on MathMovesU, the company’s own math initiative aimed at middle school students. Raytheon representatives attended kick-off meetings and presentations, hosted panel discussions and shared career opportunities with college students. The company was also one of the principal sponsors of the week’s events.

A Congressional dinner featuring with guest speakers U.S. Congressman Charlie Gonzalez and U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar kicked off the proceedings. “Latinas Day,” held midweek, was another highlight of HESTEC. Five female Raytheon engineers and one intern hosted panel discussions to discuss their education and technical background. The audience was made up mostly of ninth-grade girls and their mothers.

“My particular focus was on encouraging the young girls to become involved early in math and science clubs, as well as other extracurricular activities, so they can become well-rounded individuals,” said Veronica Molina, a senior quality engineer with SAS.

“Our goal here was to educate the mothers on the possibilities the students have in the future,” added Justa Treviño, another SAS engineer. “We acknowledge our humble beginnings and portray our success. Hopefully we got the point across.”

Raytheon continued to prove its dedicated efforts to promoting math and science education to students by hosting a math competition during “Student Leadership Day.” Two students and a Raytheon volunteer worked together to answer a variety of math questions.

“I think it’s very important to reach out to young students at the college, high school and middle school levels because you can really affect someone’s plans and thoughts for the future in that age range,” said Molina. “Talking to students that young about science and engineering can prompt them to start thinking about their future and what the possibilities are when studying math and science.”

On “Educator Day,” Raytheon representatives worked with local teachers to promote the MathMovesU program and explain its benefits to students.

Building a Positive Relationship with UTPA
Raytheon employees also spoke to college students about career opportunities at Raytheon; in fact, many of the recruiters were UTPA alumni themselves. Employees representing Raytheon’s different businesses and product lines attended “Career Day” to help anyone interested in pursuing math, science and engineering careers.

To date, Raytheon employs more than 30 UTPA alumni. Of all the people recruited directly out of college, there is a 100 percent retention rate. 

“I remember when I was first interviewed that I was so impressed with the people working at Raytheon,” said Molina. “Everyone seemed so confident within their jobs and the opportunities that exist here.”

“Over the years, Raytheon has developed a very good relationship with the university,” said Guerra. “Our campus manager has put together a recruiting team made up entirely of UTPA alumni. When we visit UTPA, students see how content and happy employees are here. To students, the work that we do at Raytheon is interesting, innovating and challenging.”

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