Fourth Grade STEAM Class Hears from a "Grand" Guest Speaker

The fourth graders in Mrs. Miller’s STEAM class had a special visitor this week when Al Majlesi, grandfather of one of the students, joined them to talk about his decades of experience as a civil engineer.

“I was always interested in building things,” he told the class as he described a 40-year career designing bridges, tunnels, and other large projects. The students were especially interested in his work on the East Side Access project, which created new tunnels connecting Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

Mr. Majlesi was asked about the tools engineers use today, the biggest projects he worked on, and how teams keep bridges and tunnels safe for the public. He explained that most modern design work happens through specialized computer software and noted the strict safety codes engineers must follow.

The visit took the shape of an interview, with his granddaughter leading the conversation, asking her own thoughtful questions and helping guide others from her classmates. Engineering is in her DNA, but journalism might be another career option given how well she did the job of interviewer. 

The timing of his visit fit well with upcoming STEAM projects in Mrs. Miller’s class related to bridges. Before he left, Mr. Majlesi encouraged the children to stay curious and lean into math and science at school if they are interested in civil engineering.

Thank you so much to Mr. Majlesi and the Kamvosoulis family for sharing their time and expertise with our community.