By Vicky Falcon
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Not only did Stacy Williams help the fourth and fifth grade students at St. Leonard Elementary School, St. Leonard, Md., “build a better mousetrap,” he helped them build one that took first place in a competition against 16 other elementary schools representing Charles and Calvert Counties.

Williams, a NAVAIR Information Assurance Certification Agent, volunteered approximately 20 hours over the course of nine weeks to help instruct a team of ten- and 11-year-olds in model and design specifications – not for catching mice – but for building a mousetrap car as part of a competition for Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) activities.

“We experimented with different models allowing the students to choose the best design that will achieve maximum speed for a distance of ten meters,” said Williams. “The final design is the car that was entered into the MESA Days Competition.

In addition to the car, the team had to enter a technical drawing and a five-page written technical report.

Williams, who has a son in the fifth grade at St. Leonard Elementary School, has been volunteering at the school for five years, assisting teacher staff with instructional materials and tutoring children.

“This has been the highlight of my participation as a volunteer,” said Williams. “I wish to extend thanks to my management for allowing my participation in the PEP program. Even though we are short-staffed, they found the time to allow me to participate in such a worthy cause.”

For more information about the MESA program in Maryland, visit their Web site at http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/content.htm.

Photo caption 1: Stacy Williams poses with the St. Leonard Elementary School MESA team and the first place trophy he helped them win.

Photo caption 2: The St. Leonard Elementary School MESA team technical drawing which helped them win first place in the MESA competition.