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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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JOSIAH: Do you want
me to just tell the joke?

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OK.

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A pessimist thinks the
glass is half empty.

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An optimist thinks that
a glass is half full.

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But an engineer just thinks
that the glass is twice

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as big as it needs to be.

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[GIGGLES]

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Now what happens if
you go all the way?

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My name is Josiah Roberts.

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I'm 21 years old.

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I was home-schooled all the
way through high school.

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My mother taught me the
majority of what I know.

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Hi, Mom!

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[GIGGLES]

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I wasn't really
sure of myself, so I

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decided that I'd rather start
off at a community college

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where I could see
what my potential was.

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And I ended up
deciding that I wanted

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to be a mechanical engineer.

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STUDENT 1: And that ain't no 19 inches.

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So we have 3/4 of an inch
that it can stick over.

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So where are we
going to mount it to?

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Are we going to mount it to
one of these cross braces?

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JOSIAH: The major function
of the chair is

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to raise up to transfer a
patient in and out of bed

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with minimal effort to the
caregiver and the patient.

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There we go.

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STUDENT 2: It's a wheelchair that
will be able to transfer

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a patient from their
wheelchairs to their beds.

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JOSIAH: The major reasons why
we're building this chair

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is not only for the patient,
but it's for the caregivers,

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because there are nurses or
medical professionals that

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are constantly transferring
patients in and out of bed

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from wheelchairs.

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And there are many injuries.

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In the fall of 2009,
there was this program

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that's starting up.

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And they want engineers
from community colleges

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all over Connecticut.

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PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR: This particular 
projectis part of a National Science

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Foundation-funded grant that's
part of the Advanced Technology

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Education initiative.

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I'm really proud of Connecticut
to be the recipient of funding

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that has established a
center for next generation

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manufacturing.

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And the project like for like
Support and Sustainable Living

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really is a
supporting initiative.

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JOSIAH: The solo
transfer wheelchair project

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was one of the projects
that LSSL had given to us.

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LSSL is the Life Support and
Sustainable Living Program.

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It's basically a collaboration
of the community colleges

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and other universities
in Connecticut,

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where the engineering students
will get together in groups

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and work as teams to
complete projects.

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PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR: Leadership has 
to come from community colleges.

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I think it gives
you a real leg up as

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to whether you decide to
pursue a job immediately

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after your associate's
degree, go on

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to a four-year university, or
maybe do a combination of both.

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JOSIAH: You
start off in high school.

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And you're like, am
I ready for college?

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It's going to go on top here.

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Am I smart enough?

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What is my potential?

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Am I ready for a job?

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Can I actually
work at a company?

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Can I design a part if
it's placed in front of me

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and they say to design it?

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PROGRAM COORDINATOR: We try to simulate 
an actual on-the-job experience.

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JOSIAH: It helped
me get a little more

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comfortable with my actual
knowledge, my ability.

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Because there was nothing out
there similar to this project,

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we had to come up with our
own method of doing this.

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MAN: How do we stop this
from just sliding down?

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JOSIAH: We started
to actually come up

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with designs on SolidWorks.

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Two hand pulls for those screws.

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I've been known to miss
meals, to forget about life,

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forget about events
that were happening,

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just because I was so focused
on working on the project

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and working-- and getting
the model to actually work.

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Once you get started in
it, it, just sucks you in

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and you just want
to see it finished.

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PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Almost 100%
of the community

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college students that have
participated in this program

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have gone on to matriculate
into four-year degrees.

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JOSIAH: After I
finish up this semester

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at Naugatuck Valley
Community College,

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I've been accepted into Central
Connecticut State University

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into the mechanical engineer
and technologies program.

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Going through this
project, it's given me

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the ability to
realize that, hey, I

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can come up with a design.

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I can work as a team.

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I can do all these things.

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And it's really giving
me a better focus

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on what my true potential is.

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Or wait, yeah.

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OK.

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Most people think that if it
ain't broke, don't fix it.

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Engineers think that
if it ain't broke,

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it doesn't have enough parts.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]