L.A. County Collaborative Marks 10 Years Empowering Students in Green STEAM Careers

This month, a collaborative of experts from the growing green sector gathered at the California Endowment Center to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the ACES (Architecture | Construction Engineering | Sustainability) Pathway Program, designed to expose L.A.-area high school students to STEAM careers. Through a combination of college courses, field trips, industry days, workshops and paid internships, ACES creates opportunities for students from underserved communities. Its mission: to prepare a future local workforce of engineers, architects, and construction professionals with help from local colleges, school districts, industry partners and more. Program officials say that over the last decade, 1,904 students have enrolled in ACES courses, 346 paid internships have been provided with $177,622.00 in internship wages.

During the event, four students were recognized for their academic accomplishments, program completion, and continued pursuits in STEAM fields. Among them was Nathan Martínez, a recent STEAM High School graduate and a current student at Pasadena City College.

“The program opened doors for me in high school so that I could participate in activities like the L.A. Maker Faire and directly connect with people in the clean energy field.,” said Martínez. “I value that even beyond high schools, I continue to receive support from ACES. To me, ACES represents opportunity, resilience, support and determination. We can build a future we are a part of.”

The Emerald Cities Collaborative, a national nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C., launched ACES in 2015 to “level the playing field” for economically disadvantaged students of color, particularly young women, in the Los Angeles area. ACES is a unique collaboration with the County of Los Angeles through its SoCalREN (Southern California Clean Energy Regional Network) clean energy initiative.

“I’m also a product of a program like this,” said Minh Le, General Manager of Energy and Environmental Services for the County of Los Angeles. “In high school, a National Science Foundation summer program for minority students exposed me to science activities. That exposure lit a light bulb in me and changed the trajectory of my career. There’s opportunities in clean energy, energy efficiency, solar energy, wind energy, which require skills in STEM fields,” added Le.

Program officials say that investment in ACES helps address longstanding inequities in the country’s STEM career fields, which are experiencing an ever widening gender and racial gap. The Conference Board, a nonprofit think tank that provides economic and business research, found that while women attend college at higher rates than men, they remain underrepresented in STEM fields. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show a 10.4% increase in STEM jobs in the next 10 years, outpacing non-STEM jobs by 3.6%, but a national workforce that isn’t skilled to meet this demand.

“ACES and workforce investment in youth, as well as capability building for small minority business owners, particularly women, is so important,” said Veronica Soto, ACES founder and former Emerald Cities, L.A. program director. “The County, in an effort to create greater energy efficiency and a vision to have a skilled local workforce that is reflective of the region, invests in ACES. By offering opportunities that expose students in grades 9-12 to careers in architecture, engineering and construction and facilitating co-enrollment in community college STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) courses, we’re creating access to high-paying jobs that enable upward mobility and lift our communities out of generational poverty,” added Soto.

This year, 235 ACES students from L.A.-area high schools have completed 195 dual-enrollment courses, including electrical engineering, architecture, robotics, engineering graphics and drafting. Notably, 101 of the students are young women, representing 43% of participants. These courses help students earn college credits that are transferable to UC and CSU systems, giving many a necessary headstart on their college education

Event honorees in attendance at the ACES celebration were Archdiocesan Youth Employment Services, East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Community Business Coalition, GoEngineer, LINXS, Lincus, Hub Cities Consortium, PCI, Skanska, and Taco Bell Foundation.