My next outreach event was a complete change of pace from teaching elementary school students. I answered questions at JeffCon's Q+A. The JeffCon Event was for high schoolers interested in IT and attended a school in Jefferson County.
The vast difference between high school students and elementary school students still shocks me. There were about 10 participants in the Q+A and not one of them turned their cameras on. Also, they typed their questions in the chat privately to the person running the session and did not speak any questions. It's like somewhere along the way, kids grow afraid of speaking up during class or professional settings. When does this change happen and why?
It is difficult for me to say how this event went as we were given no real feedback from the students, as they had no cameras on and did not speak. Most of the event involved a representative from Mines Admissions asking me and the other Mines student in the room questions about college life. I've noticed from both this event and other events that I've done in the past is that the biggest concern of a lot of high school students about college is how they are going to pay for it. This makes me so sad because I remember the stress of applying to colleges when I was in high school, but I also remember being excited about it. Especially in the pandemic, the high school kids that I've interacted with seem focused so heavily on finances and test scores (and if they can even take standardized tests), they seem to have forgotten that college is a fun, life-changing experience.