Tri-Cities WA Academy

Wondering What Your Future Holds?  Plan to attend the Tri-Cities STEM Career Academy.

At the Tri-Cities STEM Career Academy, you can look into your own future. You’ll explore the physics of producing hydropower, design, and build hydrogen and solar cars, build and fly a drone, and trace your lunch from farm to market. While completing these STEM challenges, you will learn directly from engineers, hydro and nuclear plant operators, skilled trades workers, scientists, conservationists, and other industry professionals. Ground-breaking industry advances and world-class scientific discoveries are made regularly by people working in Tri-Cities. These professionals will explain future local employment opportunities, what skills you’ll need, and how to get those skills.

As the week unfolds, more and more science, technology and engineering career paths will be explored. Complete hands-on building challenges, field trips to local employers, and real-world simulations. You’ll have opportunities to talk one-on-one with people who work in industries of interest to you. Apprentices, internships, community college and four-year college are all viable pathways to good-paying careers in clean energy, agriculture, or conservation in the Tri-Cities. 

Each of your STEM Academy industry instructors has a story to tell, about finding a career that brings them joy every day and enables them to make a difference in our community. Local leaders are working hard to distinguish Tri-Cities as the sustainable clean energy and agriculture hub for Washington. What will your contribution be? By the end of the week, you’ll be able to write your own story, a plan to build a bridge from high school to a successful STEM career in the Tri-Cities.

The Tri-Cities STEM Career Academy is a Foundational For Water & Energy Education (FWEE) event hosted by local innovators in clean energy, agriculture, and conservation. Benton PUD and Washington Grain Commission serve as anchor sponsors, with partners including Benton Conservation District, Energy Northwest, Franklin Conservation District, City of Richland Energy Services, Educational Service District 123, Kennewick School District, and Benton REA, and workshops led by industry experts, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.