Edwin Oyola thoroughly enjoyed his Engineering education at Essex County Schools of Technology (ECST), and he said it led to a career that makes him just as happy – teaching Engineering Robotics to current students at ECST’s Newark Campus.
Oyola graduated from ECST’s Engineering program offered at North 13th Street Tech in 2006 and then attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been teaching engineering for 11 years, five focused on Engineering Robotics at ECST.
Returning to his alma mater energizes him, not only because he fondly recalls all the instructors, coaches, and administrators who mentored him, but also because it is where he met his wife. The couple resides in Newark with their four children.
“The education I received at ECST was invaluable,” said Oyola. “I had a lot of teachers who always supported and guided me, ensuring I was headed in the right direction. It was a small school, and it felt like a family. I didn’t just learn about school-related materials, but also about real life and what to prepare for once I graduated whether it was going to college or getting ready for the workforce.”
While at ECST, Oyola was part of a team that won first and second place awards three years in a row for drafting and design in competitions. He said Engineering instructor Louis Dezso was “a perfectionist” and transferred his habits to the class.
The instruction and hands-on learning experiences helped Oyola amass an impressive resume, and he was offered a job at JPV Design Group in the Empire State building as a high school senior. At the company, Oyola created Autocad drawings and blueprints for Macy’s, JCPenney, Footlocker, Movado, and The Children’s Place stores. He continued to work through college.
Today, Oyola is inspiring future engineers by teaching them the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. In addition, Oyola is working alongside one of his former instructors as an assistant coach for Newark Tech’s Varsity Soccer team, supporting students on the sports field as well as in their career field. Oyola hopes to encourage students similar to how his ECST engineering teacher encouraged him.
“I owe my biggest accomplishments in life to my engineering teacher at ECST,” said Oyola. “He really taught us skills that will last with me forever. He put us to work and had high expectations for everyone in his class.”
Oyola also looks to model Mr. Dezso’s approach to teaching, because he appreciated the fact that his instructor would incorporate real-world projects into class discussions. “He really knew his subject because he actually worked in the field of engineering and would show us pictures of work sites and projects he was working on,” Oyola added about his former instructor.
