On April 17, Fermilab’s Wilson Hall was full to the brim with high schoolers, parents and STEM professionals who’d converged at the lab for its 12th STEM Career Expo. The annual gathering gives students a chance to chat directly with experts about the wide variety of careers available in science, technology, engineering and math.
About 1,000 high school students and parents attended the event, several of whom hailed from outside Illinois — and as distant as California. They met with 150 STEM professionals from nearly 40 companies, professional associations and research centers.
More than 70 careers were represented at expo booths and in five different panels. Students and parents got to meet with people who worked in particle physics, astrophysics, data science, flavor chemistry, software engineering, biomedical engineering, computer security analysis, geodetic engineering, biomimicry architecture and health information — to name just a few fields.
“We are honored to continue to have Fermilab at the center of this amazing experience for students,” said Fermilab Office of Education and Public Outreach’s Susan Dahl, who organized the expo along with volunteer educators. “The support from our wider STEM colleagues is wonderful, and we appreciate that they continue to participate so enthusiastically.”
One of the professionals in attendance was Illinois Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, who worked as a nurse prior to joining the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019. She greeted students who came to the science panel.
“Over the 12 years we have held the STEM Career Expo, we have seen an increase in the diversity of professionals represented to provide inspiring role models for our diverse student population,” Dahl said. “More and more students can see that there are entry points in STEM, you can find your place even before you have a master’s or Ph.D.”
The event was supported by Fermilab Friends for Science Education and contributions from committee member schools.
See photos from the event below. To view photos in full, click on the magnifying glass icon on the lower right.
