Students explore science and career options at LANL Day

Over 200 students from Northern New Mexico got the chance to learn about the range of career opportunities at the Laboratory directly from Lab employees at the LANL Day event Sept. 11, hosted at Northern New Mexico College.

​​“LANL offers all kinds of good-paying jobs with the opportunity to develop a lasting career while doing rewarding work for the nation,” says Brad Beck from the Laboratory’s Partnerships and Pipeline Office, who helped organize the event. “Hiring from the region is a key goal of ours, and an event like this is a great way to let students directly hear from LANL staff about career opportunities that they may not have thought of exploring.”

The students came from Peñasco Middle and High schools, and from Carlos F. Vigil Middle School and Española Valley High School.

Employees across a range of areas including engineering, finance, IT, security, machining, communications shared their career journeys and their experiences of working at the Laboratory. The students also learned about internship opportunities (that start in high school) and explored the hands-on STEM experiences of the Lab’s Challenge Tomorrow education trailers, which gave them a chance to try some of the tools and equipment Lab workers use in their jobs.

Northern New Mexico College also outlined its  offerings including its STEM and dual-credit programs, and its associates degree in radiation protection, which offers internships at the Laboratory, financial support while studying and a path to a guaranteed job on graduation.

“For the older students, we want to show them the practical steps they can take now to get on paths that lead to jobs at the Laboratory,” says Rebecca Estrada from the Laboratory’s Community Partnerships Office, who also helped organize the event. “For all of them, it’s about planting seeds to show what could be possible as they start thinking about their futures.”