Rural Students Connect with Industry Leaders Through Innovate Pikes Peak Career Exploration Event

Rural Students Connect with Industry Leaders Through Innovate Pikes Peak Career Exploration Event

Colorado Springs, CO – More than 100 students from school districts across El Paso County stepped outside the classroom and into real-world career environments this week through Innovate Pikes Peak Industry Career Exploration Tours & Panels held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Students from Edison, Miami-Yoder, Ellicott, Hanover, Calhan, Big Sandy, Elbert and Peyton participated in the experience, designed to expand awareness of career pathways across key industries. The program included behind-the-scenes tours of Entegris and Northrop Grumman, followed by panel discussions with leaders in advanced manufacturing, healthcare, construction and financial services.

“This is exactly what Innovate Pikes Peak is designed to do—bring students and employers together in a way that makes career pathways real and accessible,” said Jessica Warren, Executive Director of Innovate Pikes Peak. “When students can see themselves in these environments, it changes how they think about what’s possible.”

The event was hosted in partnership with Pikes Peak BOCES and reflects a broader regional effort to connect education with workforce needs.

“This activity provided our students with a tour of two industries in our region, thus giving our students a look at what is possible for them in the future,” said Pat Bershinsky, Executive Director of Pikes Peak BOCES. “The industry forum gave our rural students access to industry leaders in our region. These two activities are vital for our rural students who struggle to have access to these opportunities.”

Following the industry tours, students heard directly from industry leaders representing UCHealth, USAA, Nunn Construction, Entegris, and InnovaFlex Foundry—each highlighting different pathways into their industries.

In healthcare, leaders emphasized the transformation happening across the industry.

“It is a really exciting time to join healthcare because you’re actually joining in a time where we’re actually redesigning care to make the work better for clinicians, better for patients, better outcomes,” said Kelly Gallegos, Chief Nursing Officer at UCHealth Memorial Central and North.

In advanced manufacturing, students saw firsthand the range of roles available—from clean room technicians to engineers—during their tours, and heard how careers can grow over time.

“You may not know what you want to do, but something that is very important, whatever you’re doing today, do it to the best of your capabilities,” said Dario Guerrero, Manager, Process Engineering at Entegris. “If you are doing it to the best of your capabilities, people are going to look at you and they are going to say ‘I want this person to be on my team. I want that person to be on my team.’ And the opportunities are going to start showing up.”

Construction leaders highlighted the dynamic nature of the field and the collaboration required to bring projects to life.

“You’re working with engineers, you’re working with tradespeople,  you’re working with authorities that permit the buildings … Every single building that you’re building is new and unique and it’s a custom process where you’re blending,” said Tyson Nunn, President of Nunn Construction. “Construction is an incredible field that challenges you physically and it challenges you mentally as you build these buildings. You have to have incredible communication skills. You have to have a work ethic. You have to be creative and constantly fine-tuning how you manage and work with people.”

And in financial services, students heard firsthand how career paths can evolve over time.

“I grew up on a cattle ranch in southeastern Colorado. I did not grow up thinking I was going to go into financial services,” said Audrey Hackworth, Director at USAA. “When you’re looking at opportunities, start somewhere and keep growing. Your path doesn’t have to be straight up. It can move like a rock wall, giving you the chance to build experiences and create a career you may have never expected.”

For educators, ensuring students have access to the kind of real-world exposure presented is a critical part of preparing them for what comes next.

“This partnership that we have created and committed to with Innovate Pikes Peak and the relationship that it creates with regional businesses is simply about providing a broader view to our rural students about opportunities and different pathways after high school,” said Chris Smith, Superintendent of Ellicott School District 22. “This experience was the first to put our rural students in the space of these industries, and it provides a visual reinforcement that there are more options.”

Innovate Pikes Peak emerged from a shared vision between the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC’s Titans of Economic Development Council and Peak Education. The Titans identified workforce and K–12 talent pipeline challenges as top priorities for the region’s long-term economic prosperity, while Peak Education identified the need to increase access, career readiness opportunities and career navigation for students.

“Building a strong talent pipeline starts long before someone enters the workforce,” said Lindsay Pack Moll, CEO of Innovaflex Foundry, who leads the Titans of Economic Development Council and served on the panel for the students. “This work is about creating earlier connections between students and industry so that students can see the opportunities available to them and have access to the many paths to get there.”

Together, the organizations are working to ensure students across El Paso County, regardless of geography, have access to meaningful career exploration and pathways to family-sustaining careers.