SPDI Major Shines among New Hires at Raytheon

It didn’t take Sustainable Product Design and Innovation (SPDI) major Meghan Shaw ’15 long to land a great job. She’s now a mechanical engineer at Raytheon working on the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. And it didn’t take her long to appreciate the value of the education she got in Keene State’s SPDI program. During her first week on the job, she attended a “new hire” meeting with all the other new mechanical engineers, many of whom came from big-name technical schools. And that’s where the difference started to show.

“Most of the other mechanical engineers didn’t have the hands on, practical design experience that I did,” she realized. “None of the people I talked to had the chance to work in a machine shop or take product design classes. Not many of the new hires had to create a project portfolio. They were impressed by some of the fun projects we got to do. Our major is something so unique and has really put me far ahead in the job market. I am the only new hire that I know of in mechanical engineering here that was certified in SolidWorks. Most told me that they didn’t get to do that much modeling in school.”

Shaw’s portfolio included examples from her metals course where she learned to use the manual Bridgeport and lathes and other handheld tools. A project from her Mastercam course demonstrated that she could take her SolidWorks designs and machine them out on CNC machines. Her portfolio also showed that she understood how to manage the materials used in a design project, the labor steps involved, and the costs.

“The classes included in our major are so powerful and teach the necessary skill sets and knowledge for a successful career,” Shaw said. “The professors in the SPDI major really got involved with the students and knew each and every student personally. There is nothing better than having supportive professors who have worked in the real world and can teach with passion. The students are also willing to drop what they were working on to help another student out. This supportive culture is not one you’ll find at most schools.”