Shaping Virginia’s Future Workforce Through STEM Education
Verizon Impact Forward Blog Series
Verizon supports STEM education and workforce development in communities across the country, and Virginia is a great example of this work. As jobs in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields grow, it’s crucial that students receive a well-rounded education that lays a strong foundation for success in these fields. Through programs like Verizon Innovative Learning and Skill Forward, as well as partnerships with community-based organizations, we’re helping students gain access to tools that can help them become future leaders in technology.
Verizon Innovative Learning, our nationwide education initiative that aims to help bridge the digital divide by empowering students with new ways of learning through extensive support for educators, technology-integrated curriculum, emerging technologies and free internet access, has reached more than 7 million students. In Virginia. Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, through nonprofit partner Digital Promise, has addressed connectivity barriers by providing hotspots to students in Title 1 schools, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. With our nonprofit partners, we also opened a Verizon Innovative Learning Lab in 2019 at Bayside Middle School in Virginia Beach, which provides middle school students access to cutting-edge technology and a hands-on STEM curriculum in a state-of-the-art experiential learning space.
By partnering with nonprofits and community organizations across Virginia, Verizon supports youth STEM education and workforce development. The Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers program, offers free, project-based immersive STEM experiences to junior high school students from under-resourced communities. Through the summer program, students explore STEM subjects and learn problem-solving skills at 44 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and community colleges across the country. Over 1,000 students in Virginia participate annually across the four programs at Hampton University, Patrick & Henry Community College, Paul D. Camp Community College and Virginia State University. Students receive mentorship and training with emerging technology like 3D printing, and augmented reality, while applying what they learn to real-world challenges that help teach design thinking and social entrepreneurship.
Verizon’s employees play an important role in these efforts, often volunteering as mentors at our STEM-focused community-based partnership. A dynamic example is our partnership with Rosie Riveters which started in Northern Virginia in 2022 and has since expanded to Hampton Roads. Rosie Riveters recognizes that women are underrepresented in STEM fields and aims to shift this. The organization empowers preschool to middle school girls from diverse backgrounds to explore, fail, and persevere in STEM projects, in turn building their confidence and critical thinking skills. Verizon sponsors two programs in the Hampton Roads region in addition to co-hosting multiple volunteer opportunities statewide throughout the year.
Since 2015, Verizon has also been a proud partner of the Children’s Science Center Lab. We support the lab’s Museum for All program – a national access program that encourages individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits through reduced-rate memberships and tickets for income-qualified families. The partnership expanded in 2024, bringing Verizon’s STEM career pathways “History of Telecommunications” hands-on project series to the lab. Verizon’s training team guided youth through hands-on activities connected to the history of telecoms including: a payphone math activity, fiber optic and cable splice cases, and a Wi-Fi 5G game. Over the past three years, the same project has been a crowd pleaser atthe Chamber RVA and Junior Achievement of Central VA’s Mission Tomorrow, a multi-day workforce development initiative that engages over 12,000 of Richmond’s eighth graders with career and educational pathways.
Matt Ogburn, Virginia State & Local Government Affairs Director for Verizon, said, “We are intentional about prioritizing STEM partnerships in Virginia because it is an investment in the future. By fostering collaborations with organizations like Rosie Riveters, The Children’s Science Center Lab, and Chamber RVA, we are fueling innovation and inspiring the next generation to lead in driving progress for STEM statewide.”
Within and beyond Virginia, we remain committed to investing in initiatives that ensure our future STEM workforce is highly skilled and reflective of our diverse communities. We’re grateful for the community partners that make this work possible.