Helping students make career connections through the 2021 virtual STEM Showcase

North Central, WA - GWATA and the Apple STEM Network launched the 2021 Virtual STEM Showcase, sponsored by Microsoft and Verizon Media on Monday, February 1st. The Virtual STEM Showcase is a six week event where students can submit STEM projects in six different categories and have them showcased online.  The event is free and open to all grades K-12.  

STEM projects give students an opportunity to practice skills that will ultimately be valuable in their future careers. To help students make that connection the North Central Education Service District Career Connected Learning Specialist, Tami McBride, is releasing weekly videos to highlight local career professionals that correspond to one of the six categories. The short interview videos will be released every Wednesday for the next six weeks. These are free and available for educators to use as they encourage students to engage with the showcase. 

The first Weekly Career Highlight Video, to be released Feb. 3, will feature GWATA’s own, Visual Designer, Farah Fareed Lutfi Ali. The interview highlights graphic design, video game production and the ability to develop and transfer those skills to a number of possible careers. Fareed Lufti Ali said, “I think my video will, hopefully, be important to students because I’d like for them to see that there are multiple career opportunities, and you don’t need to settle on one role - especially in industries that have transferable skills. I think it’s important to have content for students to be able to establish real-world connections between the things they love (video games, cartoons, movies, etc.) and the people who make them!” 

Local career professionals included: Visual Designed for GWATA, Farah Fareed Lutfi Ali, Basin Street Design Manager, Jesse Rose, Washington State Department of Transportation Engineer, Jacob Cunnington, Prota Ventures General Partner, Will Little, Wenatchee Valley Educator Tina Nicpan-Brown, Blackbox Network Engineer, Jerry Sanchez and Washington State Department of National Resources Wildlife Biologist, Ken Bevis. 

Young people benefit most from early, and frequent, participation in high-quality career connected learning opportunities. Apple STEM Network and GWATA aimed to support Career Connected Learning (CCL) - a continuum of awareness, exploration, preparation and work experiences that engages and inspires students to seek possible careers while at the same time readying the workforce with the 21st-century skills that employers need.  The “weekly career highlight” videos posted on the Showcase website, will help students make a local career connection with showcase categories with real life career options.

Interested students, educators, and families can see details about the different STEM categories, submit projects, and vote at: www.applestemnetwork.org/stem-showcase