2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The NASA Artemis mission and the broader aerospace industry represent a critical growth area for the future STEM workforce. However, a persistent challenge remains in creating accessible, early-exposure pathways for high school students, particularly from local communities to these high-demand careers. This practice-based paper describes the design, implementation, and initial outcomes of the "NASA Opportunities Awareness & STEM Enrichment Summer Workshop 2025," hosted by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Space Technology & Applied Research (CAM-STAR) at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) to inspire and prepare pre-college students for future careers in engineering and space-related fields.

The workshop was developed through a strategic collaboration between the university and the District of Columbia's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) via the DC Career Ready Internship program. This partnership was instrumental in framing the workshop around three core objectives: (1) to increase student interest in STEM and engineering through hands-on activities; (2) to enhance awareness of specific NASA opportunities, including internships, student competitions, and pathways to contribute to the Artemis mission; and (3) to provide real-world work experience, professional mentorship, and transferable workplace skills. The core objectives of the evaluation were twofold:

Instructional Effectiveness (Learning): Quantify the change in participants' self-reported knowledge and skills due to the intervention using standardized educational metrics.
Affective Impact (Intent): Determine the relationship between workshop satisfaction, measured learning gain, and key outcome expectancies, specifically interest in a STEM career and intention to enroll in engineering at the host MSI.

Over the course of the program, participants engaged in a series of integrated engineering activities, including CAD modeling, 3D printing, lithium-ion battery labs, and a robotic competition, culminating in a scientific poster presentation. These technical modules were coupled with dedicated sessions on NASA for opportunities and soft-skill development. Preliminary feedback and post-workshop surveys indicated a marked increase in participants' understanding of NASA pathways and confidence in pursuing STEM careers. The evaluation utilizes a comprehensive mixed-methods framework to provide both statistical certainty and contextual depth, addressing the need for high-quality research standards in educational intervention reporting. 86% of students can give examples of NASA research opportunities for advanced manufacturing, rover, and student challenges compared to 44% before the workshop. And 96% of students indicated that they know how to use the technology learnt compared to 62% of students before the workshop.

This paper will detail the curriculum framework, the model for university-state agency collaboration, and the mixed-methods assessment results. The findings offer a replicable model for other institutions seeking to bridge the gap between pre-college education and the evolving needs of the national aerospace and STEM workforce.