Quick look: The OC Pathways Student Leadership Summit brought nearly 200 Orange County students together to connect with STEM professionals, learn from program alumni and build skills for future careers and leadership.
Nearly 200 Orange County students recently gathered at the Orange County Department of Education for the OC Pathways Student Leadership Summit, gearing up for future leadership development, career exploration and hands-on learning opportunities.
The July 30 event brought together about 100 OC Pathways Student Ambassadors and students from other Pathways-affiliated programs, including California Chief Science Officers. Students representing all 15 career sectors offered through the county’s high school career pathways took part in a day designed to help students build career readiness skills, connect with industry professionals and discover new ways to maximize their impact through innovation. Check out the video above produced by the OCDE Media Services team for a sneak peek into the event’s activities.
“Leadership is more than just running the show or being on the stage — leadership is listening to the people around you and hearing the needs they have, and then having compassion and care for them,” said Dennis Cole, OCDE Chief of Staff, during his opening remarks to students.
Cole encouraged students to bring that spirit of collaboration and empathy into their work throughout the year, reminding them that listening to others can help them make better decisions and become stronger leaders.
Students also heard from professionals working at the forefront of STEM during an innovators’ panel. Panelists included Andy Chen, a composite manufacturing engineer at Joby Aviation, Linh Le, a components engineer at Blue Origin, Michael Arens, founder and CEO of Clean Earth Rovers, and Dr. Disha Sordana, a AI scientist at NASA’s Open Science initiatives.
The professionals shared how they found their way into careers developing electric aircrafts, space technologies, environmental solutions and artificial intelligence for space exploration. They also spoke candidly about setbacks they have encountered and the resilience required to turn challenges into opportunities.
Turning experience into inspiration
The summit also gave students the opportunity to hear from six former OC Pathways student ambassadors, who returned to share advice from their own experiences in the program and how those opportunities have shaped their academic and career journeys. Now attending colleges including Chapman University and the University of San Diego, the alumni encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities to step out of their comfort zones and into leadership roles.
Mishaal Mahmood, a former student ambassador and Barnard College student, emphasized that mentorship can take many forms and encouraged students to focus on making connections with people who share their passions.
“Your goal can also be to build relationships with people. When people share your passion, when you can talk to them about things,” Mahmood said. “Sometimes that is what mentorship looks like. Maybe they don’t have something to give you, but they’ll know people that can help you and they want to see you succeed.”
Throughout the day, students participated in interactive experiences focused on personal branding, design thinking, entrepreneurial problem-solving and leadership styles. They also formed their ambassador teams for the year and were introduced to the new OC Pathways Impact Project, through which students will spend the coming year developing innovative solutions to needs they identify in their communities.
The leadership event reflected OC Pathways’ goal of giving students the opportunities to build the skills and connections needed for future careers.
“To empower these students and give them agency, we’ve created this program to give them a platform to serve as leaders and be the voices of their pathways,” said Crystal Meyer, OCDE coordinator of Career Education and Workforce Development. “We have a wide range of amazing industry partners that are speaking to the kids, connecting with them and mentoring them — we hope it inspires them.”
