High School Students Visit AT&T's Redmond Office to Get Inside Look At Careers In Science And Engineering

About one in five students does not graduate high school with their peers, and of those who do, many are not fully prepared for college and career success.  And, nearly one in four students fails to graduate on time in Washington. But there is hope: nationally, high school graduation rates are increasing, but not nearly as fast as they need to be.  That is why AT&T employees in Redmond met with local students who are at risk of dropping out, helping them succeed in high school and beyond.

As a part of a half-day mentorship program held at AT&T’s offices in Redmond, 15 volunteers with expertise in information technology, product management and engineering engaged the teens in an interactive workshop that exposed them to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers.  Hoping to inspire the students to pursue careers in technology, the event was packed with career insights and life-skills training aimed at making a difference in students’ lives, while reducing dropout rates.

The teens also had the opportunity to engage with mentors in smaller groups while creating an imaginary app, designing their logo, and then presenting it to the larger group. 

“Lacking a high school degree is a serious issue in the United States, where about one in five students does not graduate high school with their peers,” said AT&T ASPIRE Mentor Kristin Jones. “The Aspire Mentoring Academy enables our employees to make a difference by sharing their skills, knowledge and career advice with students who are at risk of dropping out, helping them succeed in high school and beyond.”

AT&T Aspire is working to ensure that the future workforce of our country will be stocked with a pool of qualified, diverse employees who have the combination of 21st century skills – like STEM – that American businesses need to remain competitive in the digital, global economy. As part of the program, AT&T employees are invited to share life skills, personal stories about their career path and advice to help students succeed in school. The program offers flexible mentoring options for employees — at work, at school or online.

AT&T has pledged to invest $350 million in ASPIRE to provide events for students to lower the drop-out rate of America’s high school students.