ACEC/MA STEM Task Force Opportunities

ACEC/MA STEM Task Force Opportunities

We update this page periodically with new opportunities for our members to promote engineering, land surveying, and related careers to K-12 students. Please check back for new opportunities.  (This page is updated as of 9-10-25.)

ACEC/MA STEM Outreach Task Force: Short monthly zooms on opportunities to promote engineering & land surveying to K-12 Students with more about the leads below. Join the ACEC/MA STEM Outreach Task Force online. 

Upcoming 2025-2026 Opportunities for your firm to promote STEM careers:

During Massachusetts STEM Week 2025

Somerville High School on October 21, 2025, 1-2:30 PM at Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

  • The audience would be a career pathways class of Sophomores who are focused on engineering and architecture. The time commitment would be 90 minutes start to finish and will take place at Somerville High School. The speaker can focus on topics like: how they got into their field, what they like most about it, advice for education and college, what are some challenges they have run into and how to overcome them, and an informal Q and A.
  • For companies that can provide someone to be part of a Career Panel at  Somerville High email: Meagan Yeku,  Senior Manager of Youth Employment Partnerships at the Mass Hire Metro North Workforce Board to discuss details.

Everett High School Field Trip on October 23, 2025

  • The Everett High School students would like to visit an engineering firm either in Boston or north of Boston for a tour by 9 AM on October 23. The departure time is flexible. The Mass Hire Metro North Workforce can accommodate whatever the company is comfortable with for a tour of between 1- 4 hours.  Th headcount would be 75 high school students and 5 teachers.
  • For companies that can host a field trip for Everett High School on October 23, 2025 in Boston or north of Boston at  or be part of the Career Panel at Somerville High email: Meagan Yeku  Senior Manager of Youth Employment Partnerships at the Mass Hire Metro North Workforce Board to discuss details.

Massachusetts STEM Week 2025

11th Annual Geek is Glam STEM event – the GIG:  Saturday, October 11, 2025 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

  • This is a day-long program exposing girls to hands-on interactive workshops, career panel discussions, demonstrations, and an expo for girls in grades 4th-8th. The goal is to bring this event to 400 plus girls AGAIN this year, as in the past.
  • The STEM fields are rapidly growing, and unfortunately, our target grade levels of 4th-8th is right where girls start losing interest in these fields and where they begin to feel STEM fields are out of reach for girls. The Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts is a STEM Advocacy Council; one of our top priorities is bringing opportunities to girls to experience STEM and we are determined to advocate and advance girls and women in the STEM-related fields.

What are girls saying about STEM? The Girl Scout Research Institute has delivered these key findings:

  • Girls are overwhelmingly interested in STEM!
  • Girls interested in STEM are higher achievers, better students, and have stronger support systems.
  • STEM girls set higher goals for themselves and have philanthropic motivations.
  • STEM girls are significantly more inclined to grapple with adversity and overcome obstacles than non-STEM girls.
  • 97% say whatever boys can do, girls can do. However, 57% of girls say that if they went into a STEM career, they’d have to work harder than a man just to be taken seriously.
  • By studying what’s important to girls and applying that knowledge to our programming, Girl Scouts is making a positive difference in the lives of girls and our communities. Doesn’t this sound like something you’d like to be involved in?
  • The Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts  would love to have ACEC/MA firms participate in our STEM GIG event on October 11, 2025. Would you like to (or have employees that could) deliver great hands-on interactive workshops? Would your company like to put on a demonstration or reserve a table for FREE at our Expo Hall? Do you have donations you would be willing to make? Do you want to become an event sponsor? Can’t pick just one? Don’t! We’d love to have you participate in any or all of these opportunities.
  •      Fill out the form found here at your earliest convenience: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=cnVgU7hTOE-IpcM18CFtBtR-5ALu805LsR-reTK7fUVURVNORkZZSzlFNTRXRlhEM0JQQ0U3MkRJVSQlQCN0PWcu You will find a complete schedule and further information on this form.
  •  The event is live for registration now; we need your submission prior to make that happen. Again, the sooner we receive your form, the more YOU will be seen and the more girls will have the opportunity to benefit from what you are offering!
  •  More information:  https://www.gscwm.org/en/discover/activities/special-events/Geek-Is-Glam.html.  We update this page frequently as our partners and sponsors come on board-visit frequently.
  •  We can make a difference not only in the way girls view and participate in STEM, together, we can make a positive difference in the world!

     Contact: Tammy Breen, Special Events and Project Manager, Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts, 115 Century Drive, Worcester, MA 01606,  508-365-0115, www.gscwm.org

Transportation You on October 18, 2025, Higgins Middle School, Peabody, MA

  • October 18, 2025 – Higgins Middle School in Peabody, MA – WTS-Boston partnered with the Peabody Public Schools to host the 2024 Transportation YOU Summit in-person! Read about the successful event here and check back for information regarding the 2025 summit soon!
  • The purpose of this Summit is to introduce students ages 8-18 who identify as female, non-binary, or other gender identity or expression to transportation planning and engineering. This Summit will offer an in-person, hands-on workshop program to cover basic transportation concepts and connect students to resources to help them plan an education and/or career in transportation.
  • Workshops are run by transportation professionals who will guide students through interactive activities that simulate real life projects as well as intermediate remarks by industry professionals.
  • More information here: https://www.wtsinternational.org/chapters/boston/transportation-you/transportation-you-boston-summit

High School Internships for Seniors

  • Now is the time of year to start thinking about High School Internships for the fall! This season serves as a great opportunity for High School seniors to spark their interest in the engineering field. If you are looking for ideas how to employ a high school intern, check out the attached interview with ACEC/MA Board Member Hillary Lacirignola, PE. 

Cambridge Science Carnival

  • Carnival Returns on Sunday, September 21, 2025

Cambridge Science Carnival will take place, bigger and better than ever, on Sunday September 21 in the Kendall/MIT Open Space. Last year’s Carnival welcomed over 100 activity booths, over 300 presenters, and over 17,000 attendees, and we are confident about breaking these records this year.

Registration for Carnival is now live – if you or your organization are interested in running a booth this year, visit the Carnival website and sign up by June 1, 2025. They look forward to seeing creative submissions from every corner of the Cambridge STEAM community!

Applied Learning HUB – Volunteer Opportunities for the 2025-2026 School Year

    • STUDENT SOLVE – December 12, 2025 (Virtual) – Join us as a mentor during this virtual ideathon where students tackle real-world problems from local companies.
    • STUDENT INDUSTRY CONNECTS – February 6-9, 2026 (Virtual) – Provide personalized, written feedback on student work. Your feedback helps students see how their work connects to the real world.
    • APPLIED LEARNING Student Showcase – May 8, 2026 (In-Person) – Provide real-time feedback, ask questions, and help students make connections to real careers. It’s an unforgettable way to close out the school year!
    • CAPSTONE MENTOR COACHING – November 2025-May2026 (Virtual) – Mentor a team of high school students during the school year, as they work on a Capstone Project.

         More information here: https://one8appliedlearninghub.org/volunteer-opportunities/

Massachusetts Science + Engineering Fair (MSEF)

Start here:  https://scifair.com/

Support and inspire local students! Student participants are thrilled to meet STEM professionals, often for the first time, to review and discuss their projects. Regardless of placement, students benefit from the invaluable experience of presenting their work.

What is the judging experience like?

  • Over several hours, each judge reviews 4-6 projects which includes a student presentation and Q&A session. Each student is judged multiple times.
  • Judges utilize a rubric (with point allocations) that guides their assessment
  • Judges commit to providing a rigorous, yet encouraging, interview process for students

High School State Fair Judging – April 9, 2026 at DCU Center, Worcester, MA

Judges must hold a graduate degree and/or have 5+ years working experience in their selected subject category

  • Subject Categories include but aren’t limited to: Biology, Chemistry, Behavioral Sci, Earth/Space Sci, Engineering, Math, and CompSci.
  • Judges are required to attend a virtual orientation session: TBA.

Middle School State Fair – May 9, 2026 at Clark University, Worcester, MA

  • Judges must be in a STEM field
  • College students majoring in a STEM field are eligible to judge 
  • Judges must watch an orientation video in advance

https://msefms.zfairs.com/app/user/new/Judge/

Model Bridge and Future City Competitions

Greater Lowell Technical High School Outreach – ACEC/MA Working Group

ACEC/MA President Dawn Connelly is spearheading a new STEM Working Group for outreach to local technical high schools to see how ACEC firms can help grow interest in the engineering industry. The group is focusing its first outreach efforts on Greater Lowell Technical High School. Contact Us for more info.

MassHire Metro North Workforce Board – to Find High School and College Interns + other resources

ACEC/MA’s STEM Task Force hosted a representative of STEM Programs at the MassHire Metro North Workforce Board   who discussed how to contact local Workforce Boards and STEM Networks in each region of the state to find and host high school and certain college interns.  

Below are some resources with information on how to contact local Workforce Boards and STEM Networks in each region of Massachusetts. As a more in-depth example of what an employer’s role might look like in a high school internship, MassHire provided the Employer Host Handbook that has been adapted from the state. 

Action: Check out the resource materials, If any firms in the Metro North region are looking to get involved, they can connect with  Meagan Yeku, Senior Manager of Youth Employer Partnerships at MassHire  

Career Center and Workforce Area Map
MassHire Workforce Boards are able to apply for a number of state grants focused on career and workforce development for local youth, and can be a good place to start when searching for local internship programs to take part in. Use this map to help determine what MassHire region you are located in. Note that this is just an image, and actual MassHire Workforce Board contacts are accessible under the next heading of this email.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/career-center-and-workforce-area-map

Connect With Your Local MassHire Workforce Board
Use this guide to contact your local Workforce Board. Be sure to double-check your region with the Workforce Area Map listed above!
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/connect-with-your-local-masshire-workforce-board

Regional STEM Networks
In many regions, STEM Networks work directly with local K-12 educators and have school contacts. If you are looking to get in contact with a specific local school, reaching out to your regional STEM Network Director is a great place to start.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/regional-stem-networks

Engineer Your Future: BSCES Outreach Activities: 

Sign up to be a judge, mentor, or volunteer for upcoming events. Advance CORI checks required:

ACE Mentor Program: 

Founded in 1994, the ACE Mentor Program of America (ACE) is a free, award-winning, afterschool program designed to attract high school students into pursuing careers in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industry, including skilled trades. ACE is a federation of more than 75 affiliates (chapters), operating in 38 states and Canada, and largely based in metropolitan areas. A national office supports the affiliate programs.

  • Set Up a Virtual or In-Person Class Visit:  Engage a group of children in a rewarding engineering experience. More on Discover E >

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Massachusetts Department of Education Resources

Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council
The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Advisory Council is established by M.G.L. Chapter 6, Section 218 to expand access to high-quality STEM education for students across the Commonwealth.

Regional STEM Networks
Created in 2004, the state’s Regional STEM Networks serve as hubs for connecting educators, community leaders and industry partners to further excite and energize students about opportunities in STEM subjects.

Metro North Workforce Board Seeks STEM Employers for HS Interns: No employer cost, completely grant funded; interns work about 100 hours in Spring or Summer More >

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General Resources for your firm to promote STEM careers:

Engineer Classroom Visit Presentation Module to Promote #STEM Careers:  As your firm explores STEM activities to provide for K-12 classrooms in 2024, check out this resource from ACEC/MA’s Leadership Education Committee: a Module you can use for classroom visits in your community: More >

– Check Out DiscoverE  for more resources and ideas.

For Land Surveyor Visits to Classrooms: MALSCE’s PPT on the Land Surveying Profession – You can download this and adapt for school and college presentations. This is a large file that will take a minute to download.

– More about Land Surveying with Resources for Classrooms on Be a Surveyor

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ACEC/MA STEM TASK Force: Short monthly zoom on opportunities to promote engineering & land surveying to K-12 Students. Contact us to join the ACEC/MA STEM Task Force.