LA PLATA — Nathan Daetwyler works on fighter jets as an electronics engineer for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Patuxent River. He got there without leaving Southern Maryland for school.
The College of Southern Maryland graduate told prospective students at CSM’s fall Night of Engineering that the Southern Maryland Engineering Partnership gave him a foundation, close ties with professors and room to pursue the parts of engineering that interested him most, according to a CSM news release published Oct. 29. Daetwyler later earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.
“You don’t have to go far from home to go far in engineering,” he said.
The pitch comes as the region’s defense employers look for their next generation of engineers. A recent workforce study found Southern Maryland defense jobs face a security-clearance gap and a coming retirement wave.
How the pathway works
Students start at CSM and earn an associate degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, then transfer to the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland in California, Md., to finish a bachelor’s degree in the same field. Along the way they may land internships with NAWCAD, with the possibility of full-time work after graduation, the college said.
Students interested in other branches of engineering can instead transfer to the University of Maryland, College Park, through the Engineering Transfer Recruitment Opportunity, or ENTRY, program.
The local route is not new. A University of Maryland account of the program’s early years recognized its first graduating class of five in 2011 and reported 19 graduates working as Defense Department civilians at Patuxent River by 2013.
Partnership Coordinator Christine Owens said the program grew out of demand for engineers not only at NAWCAD but among contractors and private industry in the region. The goal, she said, was a pathway that is both rigorous and affordable for Southern Maryland students.
Debt drove one student’s choice
For Dwight Stephens, the deciding factor was money. Accepted at several universities and planning to go away for school, he reconsidered when his family asked how much debt he was willing to carry. He told the audience he did not want to start his career focused on paying off a six-figure loan, and said CSM brought internships, networking and professional development along with the lower cost.
Stephens is finishing his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at USMSM and plans to begin his career at NAWCAD.
Mia Iampieri took a different branch. She started at CSM in math and science without a clear goal, then attended Night of Engineering in spring 2025, learned about ENTRY and met regional employers. She switched her major to engineering, landed an internship and part-time job with a local firm and plans to transfer to College Park next year to study geotechnical and structural engineering, the college said.
The event
CSM holds Night of Engineering twice a year to introduce high school and college students to the partnership. Visitors can tour the engineering labs in the Steny Hoyer SMART building at USMSM and meet professors and regional employers. The college’s release did not give the date of the fall session or attendance.
CSM said the next Night of Engineering will be held in the spring, with the date and registration to be announced. The college has been leaning on events like this to keep students connected; earlier this month the Chronicle reported that CSM is betting on campus events to keep students enrolled, and in September it landed two grants for manufacturing training.
