Four ambassadors from the company General Dynamics visited AHS on Thursday, April 26 in order to talk to Theory of Knowledge students about making decisions that affect thousands of people every day.

“The work that we do affects the work the [United States] Coast Guard does every single day and many others,” Vice President of Maritime and Border Security Programs Doug Boufford said.

General Dynamics, a 30 billion dollar defense and aerospace company under federal contract, was founded in 1952 and continues to improve our defense systems and other government agencies today. The company is made up of four segments: Maritime, Aerospace, Information Systems and Technology, and Combat Systems. A total of 90,000 people make up these segments.

“They’re all smart and very educated people,” Boufford said.

The ambassadors conducted activities to teach TOK students about the various components of decision making.“I do believe that I will use the techniques I learned during this presentation later in life when I am making big decisions,” junior Nardos Assefa said.

Besides Boufford, the other presenters from General Dynamics included program management solution’s, Heather Pospichel, and project managers, Rachel Kliewer and Jonathan Drew. After very charismatic introductions, the students enjoyed a powerpoint presentation of the various decision-making models they utilize to unify agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, which was merged together and expected to produce results within nine months of President Obama’s inauguration.

“I loved all the techniques of decision making that they showed us, such as the ‘go and no go’ technique and the SWOT,” said junior Sherief Beshara, who found the experience especially memorable.

The activities took the TOK students through basic decision-making models in groups of six or less. Students set out to answer real-life questions concerning some of the challenges affecting businesses. The questions then made them use the models to formulate reasonable solutions.

“The activities were interesting; they helped us see how we would work and currently do work with others. It [pointed] out our strengths and weaknesses,” junior Brenda Velasco said.

“I feel that the activities were beneficial because we were looking at real life examples and trying to solve them with a group of people who had different personality results, which was interesting to see how other DISC personalities work together,”  junior Daniel Critchfield said.

Before the Thursday TOK class started, students were assigned to take a DISC quiz in which their personalities about group work were revealed.

The students who received a D as their result were categorized as being dominant, I students were influencers, S students were steady, and C students were conscientious.

“For the results I got an S,” Velasco said. “The results were very accurate because I’m the peacemaker in the group; I’m positive, caring and I hate when unexpected things happen.”

“I got the most out of the DISC System,” junior Gabriel Kuhl said.

Other students would respond with positivism towards the activity.

“The test said I was an S, which means that I emphasize on cooperating with others within existing circumstances to carry out the task. I thought it was pretty accurate because I am more of a team player in trying to get tasks done,” Critchfield said.

Not only did students learn different decision making techniques, but students also earned career advice.

“Get anything you can out of undergraduate [courses] — you will use what you learn. [Also] spend some time working,” Boufford said. “Going to college isn’t just about getting an education. It’s about learning life skills.”