2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Inspiring Future STEM Professionals: Evaluating the Impact of the #GOALS Live Experience on Middle School Students’ Career Interest

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 12: Expanding Access and Interest in STEM Through Outreach and Enrichment

Evaluation Paper. While many high schools have programs that help students define their career path, this is not necessarily the case for middle school. However, middle school is increasingly recognized as a critical period for interventions aimed at preparing students for postsecondary education, including STEM education. Research shows that early exposure to college-related programs significantly influences students’ aspirations, academic preparation, and eventual enrollment in higher education (Roderick et al., 2009; Perna & Swail, 2001). Middle school is being called a pivotal stage for fostering college aspirations and academic readiness. During this period, students begin to develop self-concepts about their academic abilities and career interests (Eccles, 2009). Programs targeting middle school students capitalize on this developmental stage to instill a college-going culture, particularly for those from underrepresented backgrounds.

The #GOALS (Go Out and Love Science) program, developed by the Ascension Foundation for Health Equity, is a transformative initiative designed to inspire middle school students from underserved communities to pursue careers in healthcare and STEM. The program’s broader goal is to address systemic disparities in healthcare by creating a pipeline of diverse talent equipped to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population (Betancourt et al., 2016). By promoting equity and inclusion in STEM education, #GOALS exemplifies a model for transformative change in preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals. Through hands-on, immersive experiences, #GOALS introduces students to the diverse career possibilities within the medical and scientific fields. Participants engage in activities such as simulated surgeries, basic medical procedures, Q&A with medical school students, and interactive workshops, which give them a tangible understanding of the tools, technology, and practices used by healthcare professionals. The program also emphasizes mentorship, enabling students to connect with medical students, doctors, and other healthcare workers who share personal stories of overcoming challenges to achieve their goals. These interactions help students envision their own potential pathways into these careers, fostering both confidence and ambition.

This study evaluates the impact of #GOALS (Go Out And Love Science) Live, an interactive, game-based STEM outreach event, on middle school students’ interest in healthcare careers using a pre- and post-event survey design. Participants from Nashville and Baltimore completed matched surveys measuring constructs including healthcare career interest, STEM self-efficacy, and perceived relevance of science to real life. Quantitative analysis revealed statistically significant increases in students’ career interest and confidence following participation the live #GOALS event, while qualitative feedback underscored the motivational impact of interactive learning and real-world role models. Together, these findings suggest that the #GOALS live event model offers an authentic and effective approach to early career exploration. The study adds to growing evidence that experiential learning programs can serve as powerful catalysts for fostering STEM motivation and strengthening students’ sense of belonging in health-related fields.

Authors

Dr. Valentina Kuskova University of Notre Dame [biography]

Dr. Valentina (Valya) Kuskova is a Professor and Associate Director at the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society at the University of Notre Dame. She holds a Ph.D. in Decision Sciences, an MBA, and master’s degrees in Applied Statistics and Business, along with a B.S. in Psychology. Professor Kuskova is dedicated to exploring how artificial intelligence can be leveraged to address complex societal challenges, including systemic inequities in access to healthcare education and careers in underserved communities, the socioeconomic impact of large corporations and the measurement of corporate social responsibility, and the systemic network factors driving poverty in disadvantaged regions. Her innovative work bridges advanced analytics, network analysis, and social sciences, driving impactful solutions across diverse domains such as social systems, corporate strategy, and public policy. Kuskova employs advanced AI techniques, including graph neural networks (GNNs), large language models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), neural network modeling, and AI-driven forecasting, to analyze and enhance complex problems, enabling diverse applications across various fields. She was the founding director of a network analytics institute and established and supervised two master’s programs in Advanced Analytics and Network Analysis. Dr. Kuskova has extensive experience collaborating with corporate clients, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Volkswagen, the Association of European Businesses, and many others, serving as principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or advanced analytics methodologist. She is passionate about applying scientific research to create meaningful impact across industry and society.
At the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, Professor Kuskova serves as a Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) of several educational initiatives. She plays a key role in shaping a holistic educational experience that bridges theoretical rigor with practical, real-world engagement. Professor Kuskova co-supervises interdisciplinary programs such as the Lucy Internship Program, and is the faculty of the new Responsible and Ethical AI Course developed in partnership with the National Education Opportunity Network, as well as a range of targeted workshops. Dr. Kuskova serves as the lead Principal Investigator (PI) of the NSF ExLENT Explorations Track project, Bridging to AI and Data Science Careers through Experiential Learning and Training. This project advances the national interest by designing and implementing a transformative experiential learning program in data science and artificial intelligence for undergraduate students and adult learners. In addition, Professor Kuskova is a Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) of the Ascension Foundation–funded #GOALS Evaluation Study project, which aims to evaluate how #GOALS (Go Out and Love Science) events, organized by Ascension Foundation, inspire middle-school students from underserved communities to pursue careers in healthcare. Collectively, these initiatives advance the Institute’s mission to prepare students to address complex societal challenges through data-driven inquiry and innovation.
Sugana Chawla http://orcid.org/https://0009-0001-7530-5189 University of Notre Dame
Robyn Brenza Kress
Stacy Garrett-Ray
Richard Patrick Johnson University of Notre Dame [biography]

Rick Johnson serves as an associate professor of the practice and managing director of the Applied Analytics and Emerging Technology Lab (AETL) as part of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society. AETL collaborates with iNDustry Labs to help accelerate economic and innovation impact in the South-Bend Elkhart region, achieving the goals of the LIFT Network. He co-leads a data and AI focused internship program for undergraduate students at the University of Notre Dame. His research interests include data and AI platforms and systems, human computer interaction, and informatics.

Previously within the Hesburgh Libraries at Notre Dame, Johnson has combined his research, industry, and technology experience as the Director of the Strategic Innovation Lab which analyzed, prototyped, and vetted mid-to-long-term strategic opportunities for the Hesburgh Libraries. Rick also spearheaded the implementation of the University of Notre Dame’s institutional repository, CurateND, contributed to several data preservation research grants, and served as a Visiting Program Officer for the Association of Research Libraries for the SHARE project.

Prior to joining the university in 2008, Rick worked as a software developer in the banking industry in Seattle for seven years, and spent two years in software sales and consulting in Chicago and Tokyo. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Notre Dame in Computer Science and Japanese, and a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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