For nine students from Red Wing High School, this summer marks more than a visit to a college campus — it is an opportunity to explore future careers in engineering, technology, and artificial intelligence at Milwaukee School of Engineering.

“I’m still not 100% sure about what I want to do in the future,” said Beatrix Lahammer, “But this program offers the chance to explore something that I’m passionate about, which could help me decide on my future plans. I haven’t been able to participate in an experience like this before. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“This opportunity means a lot to me because I want to be an engineer when I am older,” said Sterling Gadient. “I hope this will help me figure out what kind of engineer I want to be, and I am most excited to learn about the different kinds.”

Thanks to the generosity of MSOE alumnus Dwight Diercks ’90, H’14 and his wife Dian, students like Gadient will pursue their individual passions through MSOE’s summer academic camps, including Explore, Women in Technology, Focus on Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Focus on Computer Engineering, and Focus on Electrical Engineering.

The Dierckses are providing scholarships to support these students’ camp fees and travel costs. Dwight Diercks is a graduate of both Red Wing High School and MSOE. He also is a member of the MSOE Board of Regents and the senior vice president of software engineering at NVIDIA.

MSOE’s summer programs give students a taste of life in college. According to Lahammer, “This opportunity means that I get to learn and collaborate with people my age in a hands-on environment, and develop more skills that can help us for our future aspirations!”

Along with Gadient and Lahammer, Clare Guse, Gavin Plath, Alyssa Rice, Bentley Ricks, Piper Ryan, Marek Sparby and Kamari Williams were selected by Dwight Diercks to participate in this opportunity based on their scholarship applications, in which they outlined how their chosen MSOE summer camp will help them achieve their career goals.

According to the Red Wing School District, sending students to MSOE’s summer camps is part of the Diercks’ long-term commitment, “Flight Path 2030,” which aims to help transform the district into a center of excellence in computer science, data science, and artificial intelligence.

The Dierckses have made transformational gifts to MSOE to position the university as the leader in the education of applied artificial intelligence. These include the establishment of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science; construction of Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall, complete with Rosie the Supercomputer; establishment of the Chair in AI Education and Research; sponsorship of the Rosie Supercomputer Super Challenge; major support for the construction of the Robert D. Kern Engineering Innovation Center; and many other initiatives.

Additionally, the Dwight and Dian Diercks School of Advanced Computing is named to recognize the incredible and historical philanthropic support and vision the Dierckses have given to MSOE. It serves more than 400 students across two undergraduate programs in Computer Science and Software Engineering and nearly 100 students in professional master’s degree and graduate certificate programs in Machine Learning, while also creating pathways for AI integration in business, health care, engineering and design. Beginning fall 2026, the school will also offer an undergraduate degree in cybersecurity systems.

MSOE has outlined an ambitious vision for the Diercks School of Advanced Computing to support MSOE’s goal of being a national leader in applied AI education. Key initiatives include integrating AI across all university disciplines, providing hands-on experience with advanced GPU clusters like Rosie and strategically hiring to build AI expertise.