National Webinar Series | From Emerging Technology to Career Pathways: Aligning Families, Educators, and Students for STEM Success

This session provides an overview of current STEM career trends and explores how immersive technology can spark interest and help students envision themselves in high-growth fields. Participants will examine real examples of how technology-rich experiences shift students from passive consumers to empowered creators and connect classroom learning to tangible career opportunities.

Preparing students for these opportunities requires strong collaboration among families, educators, and community partners. Through case studies and success stories, attendees will learn practical strategies to align efforts, support parenting adults as advocates, and build intentional career-readiness plans. Participants will leave with actionable tools—including a STEM Ready Checklist and family engagement strategies—to help guide students from early exposure to sustainable STEM career pathways.

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Speakers:

Kara Mason is the COO of BrainSTEM Edtech, where she leads the development of immersive STEM curriculum and technology programs for K–12 schools. She specializes in AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality integration to enhance teaching and learning. Prior to her role at BrainSTEM, Kara worked in higher education financial aid and secondary STEM instruction, giving her a strong understanding of both access and classroom implementation. She maintains public-private partnerships between schools, community nonprofits, and corporate sponsors to expand equitable access to emerging technology and build sustainable STEM pipelines for students.

Ricky Mason is an engineer, educator, and Founder & CEO of BrainSTEM University. His engineering career includes work with the Department of Defense, NASA, and the CIA, where he contributed to advanced technical initiatives and research-driven projects. He later served as an adjunct faculty member and research engineer at the University of Kentucky, bridging applied engineering and STEM education. As a subject matter expert in engineering and emerging technologies, Ricky founded BrainSTEM to build career-focused, project-based STEM pathways that prepare students for 2030-ready careers. Today, BrainSTEM partners with public school districts, private schools, and nonprofits nationwide.