Joseph P. d’Entremont, founder and president of Lenox Laser, Inc. has had a vision for his laser drilling company to have an educational outreach to the community for some time now. His motto, “Inspiration causing Motivation for Education” has been the driving force of his desire to get kids excited about the sciences especially in the field of light and optics. Under the auspices of the Science Fair Competition of Maryland, the ground work has been laid to begin a student cooperative educational program designed to motivate young people of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.
Derek M., a home-schooled high school sophomore, is the first of what is anticipated to be many students who will benefit from the cooperative educational program being developed by Lenox Laser. Derek has already begun working in the IT Department where he is getting on the job training in computers. The possibilities do not end there. Derek will also have opportunities to work with lasers and learn about the properties of light and its many applications. This experience will no doubt prove valuable to Derek who is considering a future career in the Air Force.
Studies have shown that student interest in the sciences has waned in recent years. The student co-op program is designed to help reverse that trend a few students at a time. One may be inclined to ask if it is worth it. Mr. d’Entremont is swift to point out that history gives many examples of individuals who have impacted the world by pursuing a scientific concept and who have worked tirelessly until they succeeded. Consider what our world would be like had it not been for dedicated people such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and (who knows) Derek M.