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Desert View High students learn engineering through precision manufacturing class

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TUCSON, Ariz. - Aside from taking math and English classes, many students at Desert View High School are also getting their careers started through the precision manufacturing class.

The class is engineering based and teaches students everything from designing a part, to how to dimension a part, build a prototype and even code.

When the class first began years ago, Cesar Gutierrez, the instructor told KGUN9 there were only about 40 students enrolled. Now, that number has skyrocketed to 282 total students.

Gutierrez added his goal with every new student, is always the same.

"Our thing is not to make machines, our thing is for the students to fall in love. The great thing about this program is you're either going to fall in love or you're going to hate it," Gutierrez.

The class is filled with high school students, all ranging in grade levels. Among them, Greisy Sanchez, a senior at Desert View High School.

Sanchez started the program when she was in her junior year and in just a few days she will be graduating with different certifications thanks to the program.

While she's successful and confident in her decision to go into the engineering field now, it wasn't always that way for Sanchez.

"It felt intimidating at first but then once you start getting onto the machines, you get the hang of it and then you start actually liking what you're doing in the class," Sanchez said.

Sanchez has accepted a paid internship with an engineering company and will begin working for them over the summer before she heads off to college to continue studying engineering,