Discovery ChalleNGe students visit LLNL

The Laboratory welcomed more than 150 students from the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy in Lathrop recently for a day of tours, presentations and panel discussions. 

 The Discovery ChalleNGe Academy is a partnership between the California National Guard and San Joaquin County Office of Education for youth between the ages of 16 and 18 who have dropped out of high school, are at-risk of dropping out or are credit deficient. Discovery is the first-of-its-kind program in Northern California and offers a highly structured environment that promotes leadership, cooperation, and academic skills, while building self-esteem, pride and confidence.

 Jennifer Vollbrecht, a project manager for Operations and Business and treasurer for the Veterans in Energy, Technology and Science (VETS) employee resource group, learned of the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy through a close friend who mentioned the academy was looking for mentorship opportunities.

 After a meeting with the program coordinator and tour of the facility, Volbrecht put the wheels in motion for a visit to the Lab, co-sponsored by the VETS and the Office of Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Programs Office. 

 “I learned that they lived in barracks and they operate in a militaristic fashion. With the military being a viable career path for these students, I thought it would be great if they could be inspired by a group of veterans who have achieved career success and who could relate on a personal level.”

 The students toured the National Ignition Facility, received a Lab overview by Deputy Director Tom Gioconda, were given a special showing of “Dream Big”, an engineering documentary, and visited the Lab’s Discovery Center. They heard from several VETS members who shared their own career pathways and discussed how military service can lead to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with employers such as LLNL.

 The feedback received from the Academy staff was very positive and the VETS hope to continue to grow this strategic partnership and host this as an annual event.

 “This strategic partnership is so important to our mission here at the Lab,” said Vollbrecht. “We took advantage of this opportunity to participate in the success of these students, effectively building our future pipeline and inspiring the students to use the skills they have gained during the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy to catapult into a successful career.”