NEWPORT NEWS, Va., April 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division hosted 50 students and faculty from area high schools as part of Heritage High School’s Engineering and Technology Magnet Program Seniors Internship and Newport News Public Schools’ “Spring Break: Make It Work” job shadowing program. Both programs focus on the benefits of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the workplace.

“It is inspiring to see so much enthusiasm and initiative among our young people in Newport News,” said John Shifflett, NNS’ director of leadership, technical and professional development. “These programs do a great job of helping students connect the dots between what they are learning in the classroom and how it will apply in the workplace. We hope our participation will help students recognize the importance of their education and the many opportunities available to them if they follow a STEM career path.”

Heritage High School students visited the shipyard March 13-29, and participants from the Make It Work program are at NNS April 3-5. Students met with members of the shipyard leadership team, experienced engineering and information technology at work in the shipyard and saw first-hand the importance of career readiness skills in the workplace.

“In our rapidly changing workforce, STEM education is critical to ensuring that Newport News Public Schools students graduate college-, career- and citizen-ready,” said Dr. Ashby C. Kilgore, superintendent of Newport News Public Schools. “The school system is a significant part of the equation, but our business partners provide important real-world experiences that help our students understand the relevance of what they are learning in the classroom. We are extremely grateful to Newport News Shipbuilding for providing STEM internships and job shadowing opportunities that help our students become even more competitive in our increasingly STEM-driven global economy.”

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Employing more than 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding. For more information, visit: