This Friday, Oct. 20, the Westmont community officially welcomed the new Fletcher Jones Foundation Engineering Building with an event including students, faculty, staff and more. The event was filled with cheers and excitement, as this symbolizes a new step for Westmont.
The speakers, including President Beebe, expressed their hopes for the new way Westmont is expanding and will impact the global community. As mentioned in the dedication, the new building is a result of teamwork and support from many people and organizations in the community. In combining the Christian liberal arts education, a desire to help the world through technical skills and the creativity of engineering, the hope is that technology is used wisely and with purpose. As Westmont develops technical competence, those behind this project want to see new generations of engineers leading the field in a way that is ethical and compatible with Christian values. To say the staff were excited to take on this new challenge and adventure together with students would be an understatement.
The building is located by the Physical Plant, next to the tennis courts. In some ways, it is different from some of the buildings on campus. It was created with a big balcony on the back and large, high tables and chairs, as well as specific equipment. It seems like the perfect place for creative engineering endeavors.
Students are looking forward to creating and working on projects. Lukas Goodworth, a first-year student, said in an interview, “It’s a very good time to be a freshman because there are a lot of good things happening in the engineering department. I will have more access in my four years than students before me.” The new building is spacious and has the conditions for the students to work with and be creative, as fourth-year student Tasha Loh said, “This building provides a safe space for engineering students to be creative and collaborate with each other.” She also expressed excitement in bringing ideas to life thanks to the new space.
