Erin DelRegno and Angel Avery-Wright

With STEM careers on the rise, creating makerspaces/centers for children to explore in school-age spaces is a great idea. Pocono Services for Families and Children (PSFY) took this one step further and began focusing on career exploration with their school-age children and building needed skills for jobs; filling out timecards, how to tie a tie, etc. We had the opportunity to speak with Justin Ortiz from PSFY and were given a tour of their Youth Program. This program includes an Apprentice Room that provides children with exposure to a few different careers and gives them opportunities for concrete, hands-on experiences. This room was divided into four areas: cosmetology, woodworking, computer engineering, and fashion design. Below is the brief interview we had with Justin about this room: