You know the educational acronym STEAM? Science, tech, engineering, arts, math... these are the skills and fields that provide kids with an advantage in the modern workforce. Snohomish County runs on these types of industries. If you think of aviation companies like Boeing, or the life science companies in Canyon Park, or the advanced manufacturing facilities at the Cascade Industrial Center in Marysville/Arlington... these STEAM skills are at the very center of our local economy.
Snohomish County provides plenty of secondary education options – we have 15 higher ed institutions, in fact – but I wonder if there’s a gap, a bridge that’s missing between high school and college. If you’re a junior or senior in high school and you want to be an entrepreneur in the arts – an influencer, a podcaster, a YouTuber (BTW, these are totally viable career choices in 2024)... how do you get access to training and tools to bring your vision to life in a way that you can be your own boss? How do you develop a strong skill set to offer to employers without having to go through the conventional four-year degree route?
These are interesting questions for me as someone who works in media. Sometimes it seems like the media landscape changes daily with q constant churning cycle of new apps, technology, and algorithms – not to mention the ways in which we communicate; what can and can’t be said, ways to use images and words to grab attention and position thoughts in a way that engages your audience.
Now, more than ever, I believe that we need a young workforce – Gen Z and Gen Alpha – who are autodidacts, young folks who can take the infinite universe of information at their fingertips and apply it to making things, generating new ideas, solving problems on a local and global scale. I think we’ll need these bright young minds more than ever in the coming decades as we as a society grapple with climate change, misinformation, housing needs... you name it.
Ok, zooming back in again...
Today I’m interviewing Chris and Zea, who are the founders of the nonprofit arts and tech makerspace Creator Zone in Lake Stevens. I think they are the authorities in this topic of creativity, education, and the future workforce of our community. I’d like to hear more about how they are creating STEAM access for disadvantaged communities in Snohomish County, opening up opportunities for kids who might otherwise not know how to address the big, intimidating (existential even) high school question of “what do I do with my life now?”
