During Dirk Horst’s AP Physics C class on Tuesday, Jake Hervey, a former Lovejoy student who recently graduated from A&M majoring in petroleum engineering, talked with the students via Google Hangout about their future in physics and engineering.

“The technology used in the Google Hangout made this learning experience possible,” instructional technology coordinator Michael Voth said. “Without the technology, Jake would have had to be here in person to speak to the Physics C classes, which probably would not have happened. With the technology, Jake was able to take time during his lunch from his engineering job in Cheyenne, Wyoming to share with our students.”

Senior Tess Mair said the Google Hangout session eased her mind concerning her future.

“Talking to [Hervey] makes college and the future feel a lot more tangible so that we can actually see someone who has been in our shoes and has been a senior at our high school and has gone on and been through the process of going forward,” Mair said. “It’s not just a counselor saying ‘hey you’ve got to buckle down’ but it’s an actual person who has been in our shoes saying ‘you have to buckle down’ and ‘you’re going to have to try harder’ and it’s very different.”

Voth said talking to Hervey “provided advice [to students] on how to make educated decisions when making important decisions in college.”

“I think this experience will help students with the decisions they make in choice of changing studies in college,” Voth said. “Many students change their major or area of study in college because you do not really learn exactly what they entail until you are in them.”

Senior Jost Luebbe received “a certain reassurance” from talking to Hervey about his future.

“I feel that it is really invaluable knowledge that we can draw from that we maybe wouldn’t get from someone who was just writing about it or we weren’t able to talk to them in person,” Luebbe said. “[Hervey], coming from Lovejoy, probably has similar skill sets and he’s gotten similar education, and so seeing that he can apply those same skills he learned he in college it makes us feel like we can do the same.”