NAF Academy

NAF Mission Statement

The Burbank Unified School District NAF Academy will provide an academic and technology based program that inspires students to become respectful and successful members of a continually evolving global community. Through high quality instruction, community service, shadowing experiences, and internships, students will graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, the workplace, and the world beyond.

NAF Engineering Academy

The NAF Engineering Academy is a comprehensive introduction to various technical and mechanical professions. The academy incorporates concepts from the physical sciences to teach theory as well as application. Each class offered by the academy provides a solid representation of the jobs within its respective discipline. Furthermore, the Engineering Academy allows for the connection of peers with aligned interests and passions, blossoming opportunities for collaboration and friendship to form.

Engineering

The Engineering 1 course (Engineering 2 was not being offered during my senior year) at Burbank High School covered a variety of topics. From simple concepts, such as differentiating between precision and accuracy, to complex ideas relevant to the current day, like self-driving cars and maglev trains, the class's scope reached far across the discipline as a whole. Some notable projects completed in this course include learning and using CAD software to design a phone stand (as seen to the left), building stable structures that can withstand simulated earthquakes, and using electronics to power miniature robotics.

Engineering has taught me a myriad of skills within the fields of mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and electrical engineering, but above all else, it has taught me the value of collaborating with others. There had been many times when I was completely lost for how to tackle an issue, and like guardian angels, my teammates saved the day with their different perspectives and outlooks on the problem. It has taught me the value of communication and working with others in STEM fields as well as other avenues of advanced problem-solving.

Computer Science

I completed Computer Programming, AP Computer Science A, and Honors Computer Science AB during my time at Burbank High School. Collectively, they cover the basic syntax of Java, HTML, and C++, as well as develop an in-depth understanding of concepts including arrays, recursion, searching and sorting algorithms, program efficiencies, queues, stacks, binary trees, hash codes, linked lists, maps, sets, etc. A big focus of each course is Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). This programming strategy is a method that breaks a convoluted system into many parts, called objects, which interact with each other to achieve a desired task (as seen to the right).

Computer science is like learning how to ride a bike; it's difficult and confusing at first, but as you gain experience learning from your many failures, it becomes an enjoyable activity worth all the effort it took to develop. All three of my experiences with the subject have taught me the idea of approaching the same problem in many different ways and using all the tools available to me. OOP has also imparted to me the value of splitting a problem into its many parts and tackling them one by one.

Physics

AP Physics 1's curriculum discussed the topics of basic motion, forces, the flow of energy, rotational motion, planetary motion, momentum, and torque, all in a multitude of scenarios with varying conditions. These principles were displayed in many physical displays and labs, such as building a gutter for a marble to roll down (as seen to the left), witnessing Newton's cradle, and using rotational force to spin weights at varying speeds.

You never truly get to appreciate the world around you without learning about the logic behind its inner workings. More than a mere physical science, physics is the essence of life and motion captured through expertly crafted formulas and unique approaches to complex problems. Though the class may be brutal at times in how complex the subject can become, it makes up for it in how it changes your perspective, allowing you to better perceive the world with an engineering outlook.

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