Unite program empowers high schoolers to step into STEM careers

For about 20 high school students from across Southwest Virginia, summer isn’t a break — it’s a launchpad. Through the Unite program, these students are spending six weeks on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, immersed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning.

Funded by the Army Educational Outreach Program and hosted by Virginia Tech TRIO Programs, Unite is designed to open doors, spark curiosity, and give students a head start on the path to college and in-demand careers.

“Unite gives students an opportunity to imagine themselves as engineers, scientists, and creators,” said Frances Clark, director of TRIO Programs, part of Outreach and International Affairs. “We’re helping them build skills — and see their own potential — through meaningful, hands-on experiences.”

Unite is part of the broader Upward Bound summer program, which brings about 50 students to campus each year. While most students stay for three weeks, Unite students live on campus for six weeks, diving deeper into project-based learning and advanced topics. In addition to a college preparatory coursework, they take specialized classes in computer science, architecture, and career exploration.

In Algebra I, math is anything but abstract. Students apply concepts to real-world engineering challenges by building and racing solar-powered cars — a perennial student favorite.

The class is taught by Scott Yost, a longtime math teacher from Tazewell County who has spent nearly two decades teaching with Upward Bound. For Yost, experiential learning is a way to make math tangible, engaging, and memorable.

“I want them to see how the numbers work in the real world,” he said. “When they build something, they’re using formulas, measurement, logic — and they don’t even realize they’re doing algebra until it clicks.”

That moment of clarity is transformative, especially for students who have struggled with math in the past. Framing math as a tool to solve problems — and to create something real — helps them reimagine their relationship with the subject.

Elsewhere on campus, students try their hand at digital design. Virginia Tech alumnus Robert Cobb, now an associate professor at North Carolina A&T, leads the architecture course, where students use industry software like SketchUp and Fusion360 to create their own models. Clark also leads a careers course to help students explore their strengths, interests, and aspirations.

And throughout the program, students live in residence halls, eat in dining centers, and experience college life — often for the first time.

“These experiences can change the trajectory of a student’s life,” Clark said. “Not only are STEM careers among the fastest-growing and highest-paying, but they also require the very skills these students are developing: critical thinking, creativity, and persistence.”