Purdue University’s College of Science K-12 Outreach expands STEM career video library for students and educators
04-30-2025
The College of Science K-12 Outreach is inviting alumni and professionals to help shape the future of STEM learning
The world of STEM is exciting, and it is continuing to grow worldwide. However, many students are unaware of the careers that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) can offer. That’s why Purdue University’s College of Science K-12 Outreach team is continuing to grow a STEM Career Repository. This resource is a free online video library that connects classrooms with professionals in real-world STEM careers.
The STEM Career Repository provides brief and engaging videos featuring experts from STEM disciplines, offering students and educators a free and inside look into these careers. No matter your interest, these videos ignite curiosity, highlight potential career paths, and demonstrate how STEM professionals tackle real-world challenges. If you’re a student seeking motivation or a high school STEM teacher showing career insights in the classroom, this resource aims to bridge learning with opportunities.
“Educators strive to integrate practical college and career readiness skills into their teaching,” says Steven Smith, K-12 Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. “To bridge this gap, Purdue University College of Science K-12 Outreach is in the process of building an extensive STEM Career Repository.”
The repository currently contains over 300 videos, and the project has no endpoint, and more are being added as new professionals contribute. “We have a bunch of short videos from professionals in various STEM fields. Teachers can have students search by keyword and discover interesting possibilities related to the content they are teaching/learning,” says Smith.
If you’re a Purdue alum, faculty member, or a friend of the university, this is your chance to help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. The process is simple and flexible. Contributors can film a video on the outreach’s on-campus green screen, schedule a brief Zoom interview, or record from the comfort of their home or office using the online STEM Career portal .
To help coordinators showcase more of their work, the outreach team has created downloadable handouts and worksheets that can be used with the videos. “Some schools have STEM coordinators, and they appreciate STEM handouts to assign or provide to students, highlighting some of the careers,” said Smith.
The STEM Career Repository project is being spearheaded by K-12 Outreach Coordinators Bill Bayley, Sarah Nern, and Steven Smith, with contributions from student video editors.
Learn more, watch videos, or submit your own!
Sharing your story enables students to imagine their futures and helps educators connect classroom lessons to career exploration!
The Goal of the STEM Career Repository is to help students become aware of the many career opportunities in the STEM fields.
The Quest is to inspire all students by allowing them to see someone they identify with, being successful in a STEM field.
About Purdue University’s College of Science
Purdue University’s College of Science is committed to the persistent pursuit of the mathematical and scientific knowledge that forms the very foundation of innovation. More than 350 tenure-track faculty conduct world-changing research and deliver a transformative education to more than 6,000 undergraduates and 1,750 graduate students. See how we develop practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges with degree programs in the life sciences, physical sciences, computational sciences, mathematics, and data science at www.purdue.edu/science .
Written by: David Siple, Communications Specialist, Purdue University College of Science