Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/960726
70 I-CONNECT007 I SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE 2018 Bringing STEM Students to IPC APEX EXPO for a View of the Industry by Patty Goldman and Barry Matties I-CONNECT007 On the last morning of IPC APEX EXPO 2018, we met with Nancy Jaster, IPC design programs manager and one of the driving forces behind IPC's STEM Outreach program for high school students. We spoke about the students who were arriving on site at IPC APEX EXPO, and what the industry, and IPC, hoped to achieve with this valuable program. Patty Goldman: Nancy, nearly 50 high school kids are lined up to get a badge and backpack for IPC's STEM Outreach program at IPC APEX EXPO 2018. I take it you are in charge here. What's the story? Nancy Jaster: STEM is important to me because when I was in high school, I had no idea what an engineer did. I came up with this idea while speaking to Alicia Balonek (IPC senior direc- tor of trade shows and events), the other orga- nizer of this event. After discussing this with Alicia, I reached out to a friend whose chil- dren attend Canyon Crest Academy. My friend used to work with me at Bell Labs and would understand what I was proposing, and her children's school had a great STEM program. My friend immediately agreed and pitched it to the Canyon Crest Academy principal, and by the next morning, they were on board and IPC had a STEM Outreach program. This same friend also had contacts at the Preuss School, which is for kids who may be the first in their families to go to college. They also agreed. It was basically through networking and con - nections that these two schools were selected. By having built-in connections to these two schools, we were able to put a plan in place