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On Saturday, October 22, the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program held its latest College and Career Fair, where teens in the program spent the morning meeting with nearly twenty colleges and local businesses to learn about the education and career opportunities available after graduating high school. The teens were able to explore a range of opportunities, from college pathways and military service to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) careers and job certification options.
Stationed at tables inside the Taylor Community Science Resource Center, home base for the nationally recognized YES Program, the attendees represented the richness and variety in STEAM careers and education.
Attendees included Saint Louis University’s Doisy College of Health Sciences, Missouri University of Science & Technology, the UMSL/Washington University Joint Engineering Program, the U.S. Air Force, the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts, and the St. Louis Construction Cooperative, among several others.
“The College and Career Fair provides an environment for the YES Teens to explore STEAM opportunities within Missouri and Illinois,” says Amiee More, Community Science Manager for the YES Program’s Integrative Medicine & Well-Being component.
More, who headed up the college and career fair this year, explains that the event allows the teens to practice asking questions that are relevant for their college and career interests. “The YES Teens also learn about admission requirements from college admissions counselors and college advisors. Employees from various companies can provide insight into potential career opportunities. And the teens can connect with companies for shadowing, interning, and future employment opportunities.”
YES Teens from throughout the four-year program had the chance to participate, meeting and conversing with the attendees to spark ideas for and interest in STEAM-powered opportunities they can then work toward during high school.
In preparation for the day, the older YES Teens worked on building their resumes to better understand what expectations employers might have, while the younger teens completed career interest surveys and then researched different careers based on their results. This past summer, the first-year YES Teens had the chance to develop short elevator pitches about their current education, work experience, and extracurricular activities.
Serving as a pipeline for workers in the STEAM-powered economy is a key aspect of the YES Program. For over 24 years, YES has worked with local teens—primarily from underserved neighborhoods—throughout their four years of high school, preparing them for the in-demand STEAM careers of the future, including those right here in St. Louis.
Graduates from the program have gone on to find success in a wide range of fields and roles, including in healthcare and engineering and as entrepreneurs, community leaders, and more.
Capping off the day, the College and Career Fair invited former YES Teen Cetris Ivy, currently a student enrolled at Mayville University, to be part of a discussion with YES alumni.
Moderated by current YES Teen Zakiya Jackson, the discussion included Ivy and the Science Center’s Chastity Culberson, manager of YES’s Aerospace component and a former YES Teen herself, who answered questions from the YES Teens, provided insight on the challenges they’ve overcome, and shared advice with the current generation of teens in the program.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the YES Program without an opportunity for the teens to experience science in a unique way, so it was fitting that the students from Washington University Synapse, an undergraduate neuroscience club, brought out a real human brain the teens were able to hold and examine. Now that’s going hands-on with STEAM.
STEAM programming delivered by the YES Teens both at the Science Center and in collaboration with the Science Center’s more than 60+ community partner organizations typically helps connect thousands of St. Louis community members with science and technology education programs each year.
Want to help support the YES Program? Consider making a gift to YES here.
Your Support
Support from donors, Science Center members, and Supporting-level members is instrumental in helping the Science Center continue offering connections to science for everyone in our region. If you’d like to show additional support for our mission, please consider donating to the Science Center’s Annual Fund, becoming a member, or becoming a Supporting-level member.
Your Impact
Want to learn more about how the Science Center and its supporters are making a difference for STEAM learning in the St. Louis region?
