High school students visit interactive career booths lining the hallways of New Hope Center at Future Force’s inaugural event.
What happens when you combine hundreds of high school students, hallways lined with interactive career booths, and a wealth of subject matter experts from all corners of the Y-12 site? According to the Y-12 Future Force program, you get a great success. Attendees from 19 schools across East Tennessee filled the New Hope Center on April 2 for the program’s debut event, Future Force: Introduce a Student to STEM Careers, which was designed to educate the region’s future workforce about the breadth of careers supporting Y‑12’s national security missions.
“The name of the event explains it –– we are looking to our future,” said Y-12 Education Outreach specialist Kristin W. “Y-12 has an incredibly diverse workforce, and we want to ensure that our worker pipeline remains filled with the best and brightest as the nuclear industry continues to grow in Oak Ridge.”
While the event might have “STEM” in the title, it went beyond the traditional focus on science, technology, engineering, and math to also include production, manufacturing, and trades. This expansion was emphasized by the offering of two panel discussions (STEM and manufacturing/trades), where students sought advice from professionals about their careers, education, and even hobbies. The event also boasted 41 booths with hands-on activities sponsored by a wide range of organizations –– from carpenters and pipefitters representing ATLC to Safeguards and Security demonstrating SPOT, the robotic dog.
ATLC carpenters show Future Force participants the array of tools used in daily work on-site.
“Our workers have rallied around Future Force in a tremendous way,” said Deputy of Production and Operations Jan W. “They’re all here to share their stories and show students a glimpse of what a career day looks like in their respective professions.”
Students also had the opportunity to sharpen their interviewing skills with a career development breakout session hosted by Human Resources, the organization responsible for hiring the site’s expansive workforce. During the session, participants engaged in mock interviews, resume building, and demonstrations on the dos and don’ts of interview etiquette.
Attendee Jacob T., son of Y-12 system engineer Matt T., appreciated the variety of options built into the agenda.
“My favorite part was just the amount of options to choose from based on what I was interested in — interviewing, panels, or booths,” said Jacob, who added that he most enjoyed the trades panel. “It was cool to learn about all the career options and what actually goes on at Y-12 because there’s a lot I don’t get to hear from my dad that I now know because of things the speakers talked about.”
Matt agreed with his son that the event provided an eye-opening experience for students to learn about the diverse jobs needed to run the large complex, and he hopes Jacob, like many other students, walked away with an open mind.
“It was beneficial for my son to see that there are folks out here doing important jobs every day who aren’t necessarily an engineer like his dad,” said Matt. “Even if he starts out in one profession, he could end up doing something completely different by the end of his career. The panelists did a good job of capturing that.”
The positive energy surrounding the Future Force program is evident, but what’s next? Now that the inaugural event has planted a seed, the Y-12 education outreach team plans to continue “watering” it by fostering relationships with local schools as well as expanding its reach with events like Future Force: Introduce an Educator to Careers in Nuclear (coming November 3, 2026).
“Through interacting with these youth, I can see our future looks pretty bright,” said Jan. “There is something out there for everyone. I want them to know that.”
Future Force attendee tries on virtual reality goggles at ORETTC’s booth.