CALEB ARENA SME PRIME High School Education Gives Manufacturing Student Head Start at Georgia Tech

Caleb Arena was a junior when his high school — Pine Bush High School in New York — became part of the SME Education Foundation’s PRIME program in 2019. It had a profound impact on the remainder of his time in high school, his transition to college and his still-evolving career pathway.

Arena’s high school experience stimulated his interest in manufacturing so much that he decided to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, more commonly known as Georgia Tech, where he’s now a sophomore. “It had programs and clubs I was really interested in, and it was the best opportunity as far as learning environment and career path,” he says.

Although Georgia Tech was one of the most expensive schools he was accepted into, Arena received financial help in the form of the 2021-22 SME Education Foundation PRIME Educational Scholarship. “I had that scholarship for the first year, and it definitely helped,” he says.

One of the Georgia Tech clubs Arena was interested in, and subsequently joined, was GT Motorsports — a Formula SAE club that designs and builds Formula One-style cars. Being part of the racing club, where he primarily helps out with welding and milling, has helped Arena zero in a little more on his future career aspirations. “I’ve become very close to the idea of working in either automotive design or automotive manufacturing, or if possible to go into motorsports,” he says. Wherever he ends up, Arena credits his experience at an SME PRIME high school with getting him started on the right career track. “I was always into engineering-style stuff, but in high school I started to narrow down what I really liked.”