{"id":66248,"date":"2022-10-19T01:13:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T05:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/id-kayla.cms-devl.bu.edu\/wheelock\/?post_type=bu-article&p=66248"},"modified":"2023-07-18T21:23:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T01:23:58","slug":"career-ready-latinx-youth","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-kayla.cms-devl.bu.edu\/wheelock\/magazine\/articles\/2022\/career-ready-latinx-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Career-Ready Latinx Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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BU Wheelock\u2013Sociedad Latina collaboration aims to steer high-needs Boston adolescents toward careers in STEM<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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October 19, 2022<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Can teaching Latinx middle-schoolers network science and career development steer more of them toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and math\u2014also known as STEM?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the hypothesis of a joint study between researchers at BU Wheelock\u2019s Center for Future Readiness<\/a> and Boston-based nonprofit Sociedad Latina. Using new and previously developed curricula, the collaborative project team facilitates after-school courses at three Boston middle schools that enable students to explore careers in fields like data analysis and visualization, network science modeling, and computational thinking. Additionally, a course called My Career and Academic Plan, or MyCAP, leads students to think about their unique traits, identifying barriers to their academic success, as well as why and how to set goals and potential career paths for their skills and interests\u2014especially in STEM fields. Hispanic workers comprise only 8 percent of the STEM workforce, despite representing 17 percent of total employment across all occupations, according to the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCOVID has completely disrupted youth engagement and intentions to pursue postsecondary education,\u201d says V. Scott H. Solberg<\/a>, a professor and codirector of the Center for Future Readiness. \u201cNowhere is this more evident than among youth of color and youth living in lower-income households. This project strives to enable youth to feel confident in using a range of data science skills and connect them to role models who encourage them to believe in their ability to pursue high-wage STEM occupations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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COVID had completely disrupted youth engagement and intentions to pursue postsecondary education. Nowhere is this more evident than among youth of color and youth living in lower-income households<\/div>