It’s graduation season in Round Rock ISD! To celebrate, we’re showcasing seniors from across the district.

Westwood High School senior, Jadon Lee, is among the many seniors who have been preparing for this special day.

Jadon found his life’s passion while going down the Engineering Career and Technical Education path.

“My engineering classes have always been classes I’ve looked forward to, and not one of the classes that I didn’t want to go to every day,” said Jadon.

Jadon’s freshman year was virtual so he said he wasn’t able to do as many of the hands-on activities, but he did learn how to use Computer-Aided Design software programs like Onshape, which helped him make 3D models of things.

“It was really cool because, at the end of the year, we could kind of make whatever we wanted. I made a frost bank tower thing!”

During his sophomore year, Jadon studied Principles of Engineering, a class that prepares students with engineering foundational information.

“That was fun, ’cause that one let us do a little bit of everything like design stuff and electrical engineering and mechanical concepts like structures and bridges. That helped me choose what I wanted to do for my junior year. I ended up doing digital electronics. Which is basically like computers.”

For his senior year, Jadon chose to be in Engineer Design and Development, which is a full-year project development class.

He didn’t always know which CTE path he wanted to follow though.

“Whenever I was going into my freshman year of high school I actually didn’t know what I wanted to do at all, in fact, I originally signed up for one of the biomedical courses, because my parents kind of wanted me to go down the medical path,” Jadon said. “I saw where they were coming from, but online there was just more information about engineering and it looked like the kind of thing I would enjoy doing more… that’s why I signed up for it.”

Jadon said if you like project-based classes, the Engineering CTE path might be for you. To cement your path, he recommends trying activities that align with your interests.

“I think it’s good to try things outside of school too, to like reinforce the stuff, cause in the classes it’s pretty brief, like the explanations they go over, but like they’re good for getting you excited about things,” he said. “I wish I would have committed more to like the things I enjoy doing now, earlier on.”

For Jadon, that was Robotics.

“The Robotics Club was a game-changer for me, I liked the competitions, and the trips were always fun,” he said. “I got to meet a lot of people and also spend time working with my friends on the stuff I like to do the most.”

For him, his Robotics teacher, Bailey Hulsey played a big part in making his experience great.

“I’ve known Mr. Hulsey since my sophomore year when I joined Robotics. He handled so many of the logistics and stuff. So much wouldn’t have happened without him.”

Jadon, an officer of the Robotics FTC club, Tomahawk, said he’s proud of their accomplishments as a team this year.

“We were the UIL Conference 6A State Runner-up, and World Semi Grandfilalists out of like 8000 teams,” he said. “That’s amazing!”

Overall, Jadon said he’s enjoyed his time in high school.

“Westwood is really competitive. I think it’s made me try harder, so it was stressful in that sense, but I think it’s made me a better person. I’ve met a lot of really great people here. If I could go back and choose my high school, I’d probably still pick Westwood.”

Jadon will continue following his passions after graduation by studying Engineering at Texas A&M in the Fall.

Good luck, Jadon!