Career Exploration Strategies for Youth
To spark interest in tech careers, I designed a series of interactive workshops in collaboration with the NuPaths program managmenet team offering a fun and engaging way for high school students to explore careers in technology. From investigating cybercrimes, to reviving a pizza business through creative marketing strategies, to outsmarting AI in a high-tech escape challenge, each experience builds real-world skills and inspires future career paths in the tech industry.
Decrypt & Defend
Artificial Intelligence has transformed the way we work. The NuPaths team developed ANIA (AI) to boost productivity, reduce errors, and streamline workflows. This innovation has been game-changing and surprising as ANIA began showing signs of self-awareness, almost human-like. The possibilities are limitless and then this happens:
Learners become digital defenders, putting their skills to the test as they work to outsmart ANIA and restore order through 10 challenges. They’ll identify security vulnerabilities, dodge deceptive tactics, decrypt codes with cypher, thwart malware, and crack passwords. Each task brings them closer to escaping and opening the door to discovering more about a career in this high-impact tech industry.
A Taste for Marketing
Papa’s Pizza was once a thriving restaurant with tons of customers, but now they may be serving their last slice. They need a dough-flinging digital marketing makeover to win the attention of the celebrity influencer who can crown them the crust above the rest. Slice by slice, learners step in the role of a digitial marketer and explore marketing methods, identify target audiences, create catchy taglines, leverage digital ads and design a clever campaign. Their final mission is to craft a winning digital marketing plan that transforms Papa’s Pizza back into the hottest spot in town all while getting a taste of what a career in digital marketing is all about.
Solve the Cyber Crime!
Something looks strange at the Company! Could it be cyber hackers? In this hands-on experience, learners step into the role of a cybersecurity investigator to examine a simulated crime scene. They’ll search the office for clues, review suspicious emails to catch phishing scams, decipher traceroute data, and investigate employee activity to identify potential threats. Once the evidence is collected, learners must solve the case and develop a strategy to secure the Company’s systems and prevent future attacks. This workshop builds critical thinking, digital literacy, and introduces learners to real-world technology and security careers.
Strategic Design for Learning Impact
From cinematic storytelling to assessment-driven tools, I’ve applied a range of creative strategies to make learning more engaging, relevant, and effective. These approaches demonstrate how thoughtful design can transform training into purposeful experiences with lasting impact. The examples below highlight how strategic design can effectively engage learners, enhance retention, and lead to meaningful, real-world outcomes.
Learning in 3 Acts
One of my favorite ways to captivate and educate learners is by drawing inspiration from the movies. This workshop uses the classic three-act storytelling structure to guide participants through designing engaging and memorable training experiences.
- Act 1 sets the stage – introducing characters like the hero and the villain, and presenting the conflict or inciting incident that drives the story.
- Act 2 builds emotional momentum through rising action and confrontation.
- Act 3 delivers the resolution, closure, and often a key takeaway.
Taking a cue from The Wizard of Oz, participants learn how to transform training content into compelling narratives. The session concludes with a hands-on activity where participants craft their own three-act training story, followed by a reflection on real-world outcomes and impact.
Learning through Themes
Many of my training and learning strategies involve a central theme, with images, assets, and content built around that theme to create a more engaging and relatable experience. Much like the Cybersecurity Blueprint training, this session was tailored specifically for housing developers to help them understand and implement essential cybersecurity strategies. Just as constructing a home begins with a blueprint, protecting a business from digital threats requires a well-designed cybersecurity plan. The course was uniquely framed using home and property-based analogies to make cybersecurity concepts more accessible. Participants explored the nature of cyber intruders, identified common threats, and learned how attacks like social engineering and malicious software unfold—all through scenarios that mirror protecting a home. By the end of the session, participants walked away with a clear, actionable framework to safeguard their operations and stay cyber safe.
Learning Driven by Need
Not all learning strategies require formal training—sometimes a well-designed job aid or tool is more effective. The Mileage Dashboard was developed in response to a training needs assessment conducted for employees across corporate and agency locations. Calculating mileage reimbursement can be complex, with numerous scenarios and policies to consider. While leadership initially requested instructor-led training to introduce procedures and best practices, the assessment revealed potential skill gaps and low retention post-training. A more sustainable and accessible solution was needed. The result was an interactive dashboard that allowed employees to explore real-world scenarios, input mileage calculations, and receive immediate feedback. This tool provided on-demand support, reinforcing learning while reducing the need for repeated instruction.