The 8th Annual Career STEAMposium took place on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Pasadena City College (PCC). We promoted the event and said that it would take place rain or shine – and boy did it rain. Despite the rain, over 400 students, parents, exhibitors, speakers and volunteers came out as the theme for the day was Build Your Future on STEAM. It was truly a STEAM filled day with 20 Speakers across 11 workshops, 8 Hands-on/ Interactive Activities and a networking lunch with STEAM professionals.
Our Keynote Speaker, Jameeka Aaron, energized the room with her address entitled “Soaring in Cyberspace - Navigating a Career in Tech”. Shetold the attendees that they can learn to code, tinker with gadgets, create a virtual world , or make the one that we live in a better place for all of us. She encouraged them to always ask questions, and never stop being curious. The world of technology is constantly changing, and the only way to keep up is to keep learning.
Jameeka Aaron’s challenge to the students was, “Dream big, aim high, and never let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your goals. Because trust me, if I can soar in cyberspace, so can you. Stay curious, stay determined, and most importantly, stay true to yourself.”
This year’s event was blessed by Team Sprocket from Diamond Bar with 18 3D printers. We in turn donated 8 of the printers to other Hands-on Activities teams, and then raffled the rest. Before breaking for the workshops three lucky attendees won a printer! The attendees then picked 2 of 10 workshops to enjoy. The speakers for the workshops were phenomenal and each continued to share, demystify and excite the attendees on the possibilities within STEAM. One of the core requests that we have of our guest speakers is for them to highlight what they do today, but also think about when they were students sitting in a workshop like this. We ask them to explain their journey from being a student to the professionals that they are today. The basic idea is for the students to leave the workshops understanding that they too can be one of these professionals one day. The STEAM professionals made themselves available and answered questions in the workshops and during the networking lunch. On-going feedback on this event is people appreciate the openness and willingness to listen, answer questions and give advice to our attendees as we inspire them to pursue a future in STEAM.
After the workshops, the students headed to the PCC Quad to partake in all the Hands-on/ Interactive Activities. The weather was not kind to us as it drizzled throughout most of this hour in the quad. To the students’ credit, they powered through and visited many of the booths.
Many students commented on how they enjoyed the sessions and appreciated how knowledgeable each speaker was on their topic. At the end of the day, they were Likely to Very Likely to recommend this event to their friends. Some direct verbal quotes and quotes from the evaluations were:
- “The program is very informative. All the hands-on activities provide a great experience on the different fields of engineering. The guest speakers are very informative and motivated.”
- “It was cool and I learned about math and more math.”
- “I most enjoyed the talks with experienced engineers and the ability to get contacts for internships/ jobs.”
- “I really liked learning about STEAM and about careers. Everyone was nice and motivational. Please continue the program!”
- "I enjoyed the information and the way they gave that information captured my attention.”
- “I think that the best part of this session was all the professionals from various STEAM careers. The information and stories they gave were incredibly valuable and inspired me to keep going and put my all into what I’m passionate about.”
- “The knowledge that was shared to students was extremely useful and intentional.“
- “Workshops. Would love to listen to more workshops. I’m impressed at how organized the event is. Speakers are very knowledgeable.”
- “I enjoyed the technology class with Lanny Smoot as he was very enthusiastic about it.”
Overall, this was a fun and exciting event loaded with plenty of information and fun for all the attendees. We had attendees of all ages, and everyone found something that was a match for them as they moved through the day.
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