NIKKI KODAMA

Dear Fellow Alumni,

It's been a little longer than I'd like to admit since I graduated from Los Altos High School. Years since I was a student in the Los Altos Solar Vehicle Team. But I'm still friends with fellow team members, still take an interest in how the program has evolved, and still remember some of the lessons I learned.

I learned how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches it takes to feed a team of students preparing for the World Solar Challenge. I learned how to coerce a team of high school boys to wear dark socks with their suits for our final Build Your Dream Vehicle presentation. I learned how to make the community join in laughing with "birth certificates" for their new "child" in our adopt-a-solar-cell campaign. And I learned how to pull my first all-nighter after procrastinating, yet again, to meet a project deadline.

I guess when you consider that I naively continue to offer fashion tips to male friends and, in spite of everything, haven't learned my lesson when it comes to procrastination, I haven't changed much. But with college behind me and the daily grind of life as a design engineer as my reality, I do have a new perspective. I've learned many more lessons about the world of engineering, project management, and just life in general.

So here I am, ready to share my new knowledge with the next generation. And while my days as an LASV member are long over, my duties as a LASV alumni are just beginning.

So what do you have to share? More than you might think. Whether you chose to follow a path in engineering, started your own business, or are still struggling as an aspiring artist, you are a testimony of what this program was and continues to be. The Los Altos Engineering Academy develops students, teaching them not only vocational skills, but preparing them for life after high school. Join the Los Altos Engineering Academy Alumni Association to support the program and the students. Whether you just want to add your name to the alumni roster or become a mentor, read about what the students are up to or get involved, LAEA would appreciate your help. Invest in LAEA as it once invested in you.

Sincerely,

Nikki Kodama
Class of 1997