Dreams to Lifelong Success: Empowering Underserved Students Through Career Exploration

Lindsay Jones, CEO at CAST; Walt Buchholtz, Career Pathways Strategist at The Immokalee Foundation; Glen Lineberry, Executive Director of the American Student Opportunity Collaborative at NREA; Kristen Hengtgen, Policy Lead at EdTrust; and Jing Cox-Orrell, Philanthropy Program Manager at American Student Assistance took the stage at ASU+GSV Summit 2025 to discuss empowering underserved students through career exploration.

Opportunities to explore and experiment with careers as early as middle school give students the best chance for long-term postsecondary and workforce success. Yet research shows that access to these opportunities is far from equal, varying greatly from state to state and community to community. This session will examine three promising programs that are innovating new methods of expanding access to career-connected learning for historically underserved student populations. Hear from educators and practitioners as they discuss strategies for providing career exploration and experimentation opportunities to middle school students in rural communities, students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, and students from migrant farmworker families.

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