UCSC Partnering Up With “Your Future is Our Business” to Explore New Ways to Connect K-12 Students with Industry Professionals

Article by Atira Nair and Prof. David Lee

Your Future is Our Business (YFIOB) is partnering with UC Santa Cruz to help Santa Cruz County students explore a variety of industries and get started in finding promising and fulfilling careers. Many young students are at a stage in their life in which they’re trying to find out who they are and what they want for their life-long careers, which can be a daunting challenge especially as a young person with little to no work experience or knowledge. Guidance and support from knowledgeable professionals can go a long way in helping students in the community figure out and accomplish their goals. 

This spring, YFIOB is teaming up with UCSC Professor David Lee’s Tech4Good Lab and students in his business strategy and information systems course to tackle this challenge through a quarter-long consulting project to aid in YFIOB’s mission to support young students in their professional careers. It is part of the Creative Engineering Design for Global Good initiative in Baskin Engineering that in the previous year worked on a business strategy consulting project for the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center followed by human-centered design projects where students designed a diverse set of digital apps for the arts.

“As our community experiences a major shift in our economy and its workforce, YFIOB is committed to offering all Santa Cruz County students crucial work based learning opportunities. However, our success is dependent on the commitment and time of volunteers and community partners alike. And we need everyone to participate today.” — Yvette Brooks, Executive Director of YFIOB

For the current project with YFIOB, the team is looking for industry professionals willing to share their perspectives on how to best engage them or their colleagues in volunteering their time and experiences to supporting the youth in our community.

Complete this survey to participate in the project, and follow @tech4good.ucsc on Instagram to keep up to date on the project and other community-engaged projects.