Skills_First
Welcome to the Skills First podcast, brought to you by The Apprenticeship Playbook. This podcast is your go-to resource for exploring the transformative world of skills-first hiring and modern tech apprenticeships. Whether you’re part of a community-based organization, a funder, an educator, or a company eager to implement innovative hiring practices, this show is for you. Join host Mike Roberts as he engages with industry leaders and pioneers who are redefining the pathways to tech careers. Discover actionable insights, best practices, and strategies to foster inclusive, skills-based opportunities that empower individuals and drive organizational success. Tune in and be part of the movement that’s shaping the future of work.
Skills_First
Empowering the Next Generation: Jasmine LaFleur's Journey in Aerospace Engineering
How does one overcome skepticism and numerous barriers to achieve a successful career in aerospace engineering? Meet Jasmine LaFleur, an accomplished aerospace engineer at Collins Aerospace and co-founder of Greater Than Tech, who shares her remarkable journey from growing up in Flint, Michigan, to making a significant impact in the STEM field. You'll hear about how programs like Carrera for at-risk youth and her own determination propelled her forward, despite the odds. Jasmine's story is a testament to resilience and how early influences can shape one's path to success.
Jasmine's path to becoming an aerospace engineer wasn't easy. As a first-generation college student, she battled academic challenges and personal hardships, including losing close family members. Listen as Jasmine recounts the pivotal moments that shaped her journey, from an inspiring ninth-grade college tour to the struggles of gaining acceptance into the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. Her experiences highlight the importance of removing barriers like GPA requirements to support individuals from underrepresented communities. Jasmine's internal motivation and unyielding passion for helping others underscore the broader mission of inclusivity in STEM.
We also explore the crucial role of early affirmation and supportive environments in fostering STEM success. Jasmine offers insights into creating positive and collaborative atmospheres for young students, emphasizing the importance of community and key supporters. Additionally, we discuss how apprenticeships can revolutionize hiring practices by adopting a skills-first approach. Don't miss Jasmine's practical advice for businesses and her light-hearted nod to the evolution of technology in everyday pleasures like popcorn. This episode is packed with inspiration and valuable insights for anyone passionate about STEM and empowering the next generation.
I was in the ninth grade and I was actually a student in another nonprofit program called the Carrera program and it was for at-risk youth to help prevent teenage pregnancy.
Speaker 1:So they would take us you know, inner city kids to all these different experiences and that was like the aha moment where I went on the college tour and realized, okay, this is where I find out how planes fly. So everything from ninth grade to getting into the university was like, you know, like I need to get the grades together, I need to do extracurricular activities. I was just very well rounded high school student but, coming from a public school that wasn't really aiming towards University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I struggled to get into the College of Engineering. I didn't get into the college when I first applied and I remember my high school counselor even kind of like, laughed at me when I said I wanted to do engineering. I'm coming from a community that wasn't well suited or, you know, an untapped community when it comes to producing students to go to top engineering schools, so definitely had a lot of barriers during my undergraduate experience.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone, this is Mike Roberts, creator of the Apprenticeship Playbook, and you're tuned in to the Skills First podcast. In today's world, skills First, hiring is revolutionizing the job market and on this show I sit down with trailblazers who are rethinking hiring practices and embracing experiential learning, as well as the people impacted. Follow along as we dive into tips, innovative ideas and proven strategies to help you navigate and thrive in the evolving landscape of modern apprenticeships. Can you tell us who you are and what is it that you do?
Speaker 1:Yes, so my name is Jasmine LaFleur. I am a engineer by day at Collins Aerospace Business Unit of Raytheon Technologies, working on advanced design and business development Pretty much anything that has to do with our emerging technology and technology demos for our customers to kind of know where we're going with our technology strategy. And then I am a co-founder and executive director of Greater Than Tech. We teach girls and underserved youth STEM and entrepreneurship together, so they not only see themselves as engineers and scientists but also as entrepreneurs and business owners.
Speaker 2:Nice, I love it and I'm familiar with your work. I know we talked very early on, when you were just starting this organization and super excited to see you. It's almost, or is it more than, a full year in now. How long have you been? Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:We actually formed the nonprofit in 2019. So we have the paperwork from then. We had our first program, our first event, literally the day before the pandemic shut down, like literally March 14th 2020. It was a one day workshop with six students. That was our MVP and that was kind of like how we tested out our framework for how we teach the classes or teach the program, and I would say we were quiet for all of 2020, as most people were. Most of our programs are in person and very hands-on, but I'll say we re-emerged our like false start was 2021, doing a Girl Meets Drone program. So I feel like we're technically not new, but really a full, solid year down.
Speaker 2:So you're a little more out of stealth mode is the way we would describe it in a startup ecosystem. Tell me a little bit about what got you into the work that you're doing now. What got you into a STEM career? What's your background?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so my background is in aerospace engineering. I wanted to know more about planes when I was a kid I'm from Flint, michigan. I lived by the airport, so I was like a kid looking up to the sky and I remember asking my mom like how do planes fly or what's keeping it in the air? And all she said to me was maybe one day you'll have a job where you can answer that question. And my mom was an educator, so all the things that she would say to me was always like I don't know, jasmine, what do you think? I don't know, jasmine, what do you think? So I feel like I was always very inquisitive and like looking for answers.
Speaker 1:I was a very good student when it came to math and science and, just you know, honor roll kid and went down the path and realized that aerospace engineers are the ones who know about planes, went to University of Michigan. It was a very difficult process and story First generation student going away to college. But what got me thinking about University of Michigan was I went on my first college tour when I was in the ninth grade and I was actually a student in another nonprofit program called the Carrera Program and it was for at-risk youth to help prevent teenage pregnancy. So they would take us you know, inner city kids to all these different experiences and that was like the aha moment where I went on the college tour and realized, okay, this is where I find out how planes fly. So everything from ninth grade to getting into the university was like, you know, like I need to get the grades together, I need to do extracurricular activities.
Speaker 1:I was just very well-rounded high school student but, coming from a public school that wasn't really aiming towards University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I struggled to get into the College of Engineering. I didn't get into the college when I first applied and I remember my high school counselor even kind of like laughed at me when I said I wanted to do engineering. I'm coming from a community that wasn't well suited or, you know, an untapped community when it comes to producing students to go to top engineering schools, so definitely had a lot of barriers during my undergraduate experience Eventually was able to get my first job. Fun fact, I snuck into a conference to actually get the first job. So sometimes you have to get creative to get what you want. But you know, that's kind of like how I got to where I am and I realized that everybody should not have to experience all these barriers to just be able to do what they love.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I mean, even if you've got that scrappy spirit and you want to do well, it seems like there's just so many barriers, right, like I never. I usually think that, like, once someone gets to a big name school, big university, like, okay, okay, their foot's at the door, they're good, they're cruising, like some people just aren't prepared and like, even though they get that opportunity, there's still a lot of work. That goes into just like making sure that you don't you don't end up dropping out or you don't end up in a situation where, like you can't, you can't get into the program that you really want to, even though you're at an amazing school, you're not really in a place where, like, you're going to be able to thrive in what you want to do versus, like, what the gatekeepers are saying are the only available opportunities. Right.
Speaker 1:Honestly, we can have the whole podcast about the gatekeeping and the requirements needed or you know, quote unquote to be successful. I'm a strong advocate of like. We need to remove barriers when it comes to GPAs, because that really can dictate who's actually going to be able to get through the door and a lot of times when you don't have that. I'm a student who didn't have a good GPA when I was applying to jobs, so I'm very passionate about that, because there are so many experiences that a lot of us black and brown people and first generation students have to deal with outside of just the academic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. What do you think was the biggest challenge in your journey? If there could be like one single thing that you say, okay, this was the worst.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so my junior year of college. So, mind you, Mike, I did not get into the College of Engineering. When I applied in high school I had to do a cross-campus transfer. So I got into University of Michigan Literature, Science and Art and my plan was to do the prerequisites and transfer into engineering. Now, normally that's a two-year process.
Speaker 1:I was not doing well in those classes so it took me like four years to actually transfer into engineering, although I was doing the classes. But one of the most difficult barriers was that I lost my mom and my two grandparents in the same year when I was trying to make that transfer. So I took some time off of school. I was out of school for like two weeks. I planned three funerals in three months, so it was just a very difficult time, as you can imagine, and I feel like what kept me going was that I was the one that went away to college and I wanted to keep that family name going and my family was so passionate about education, Like my grandma she was. Everyone was just so. They were my biggest cheerleaders. So I just felt like I was doing a disservice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you didn't want to let them down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't want to let them down, so that to me really like was the biggest barrier. But when I think about who I am today and what I was able to accomplish from that, I honestly have that fighting spirit of like. If I can get through that, I can get through anything and it's I'm able to help other people now.
Speaker 2:It's just like wow, and it's such a reality that, like if you a lot of the barriers that the folks that we work with or that we know have to deal with already is just like, and it gives you that internal motivation to just be like you know what I did all these other things, Like I'm gonna make this happen and just get it done Right, Like we're just, we're just built like that to just like get hard stuff done.
Speaker 1:And it's almost like built like that, but. But almost like you don't have a choice, Like if you don't figure it out, then it's not going to happen.
Speaker 2:It ain't going to happen. Yeah, true. So what do you most look forward to now professionally? I feel like you made it, like you're giving back. You know you're. I mean, I talk all the time to a good friend of mine. Shout out to Neil Bloom. He's literally a rocket scientist. And then here you are same thing, aerospace engineer. I feel like you're at the pinnacle, and now you, he's awesome.
Speaker 1:So what's next? Basically, try to expand, grow. We were able to do a pretty full program this year called the Community Robotics Program and honestly, I kind of get chills when I think about it, because that was probably one of my biggest accomplishments this year and I felt like I did it, scared, like you ever just say you want to put it out there and it's like I don't know if I can really do it, but I'm just going to act like I can do it and I did it. So the community robotics program is a little bit different than your typical robotics program because we really focus on the students ideas and and their like, why A lot of times your typical robotics competition, it's more focused on build a robot to compete with other robots, to collect points, and we will count up the points and that's how we determine who the winner is. And we wanted to infuse that real world applicability where students are building robots to help with social impact issues. So it was really cool to work with students who first timers in tech. You know they didn't have a lot of experience with STEM or robotics program. So seeing how kids are looking at solutions for the future and seeing them light up when their robot works and they're able to, like, articulate their ideas and Neil Bloom was actually one of our judges um at it, they were really cool.
Speaker 1:But basically just expand that program. Another big accomplishment for me was being able to hire college students who needed their first technical experience so we were able to have them help us as the instructors and just be able to grow that program and, you know, have more gusto around it. You know, really know that it can happen because it's happened before. But just grow that program to 150 students. We had about 50 students this year, so we want to reach more students and we want to help other college students, you know, get their first job as well, and we want to work with Creating Coding Careers to help with the coding part. So I think it's just more about expanding the programs that we were doing this year and impacting more people. That's what I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 2:Nice. I love it, so I'm always interested, as a lifelong learner, what other people are learning? What's the last new thing that you learned?
Speaker 1:Last new thing I like I I'd learned so many things in informal ways I'm starting to think about like how to build better teams and just like team building, like the importance of creating teams, a teams why, versus like just getting the work done if that makes sense. So like how can we make sure that people are really connected as a team and I haven't found the book I wanna read for that but just like really taking a lot of notes on what I've learned in the past year and how leadership is really about like inspiring and motivating teams and people. So I would say I'm learning how to do that, but it's still in work.
Speaker 2:I like that, and I think it's more than just finding complementary personalities and skill sets. But you are greater than the sum of your individual parts. There is this entity together. That is is really special when you're intentional and and you and you make that that happen. So love it, love it. I'm curious you see a lot of people very, very early on, and what are some of the behaviors or habits that you think create a good foundation for people to thrive in STEM careers?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a great question. So I feel like there are a lot of behaviors I'll say for myself I don't know if you ever heard that statistic or something around like show me a kid at age seven, I'll show you their future Something about years zero to seven is the theta time frame and kids are sponges. I feel like I was able to get a lot of positive affirmation and like the foundation that really made me think that I could accomplish great things. So I say that to say when it comes to the students I work with I'm normally working with middle schoolers, but just giving them that positive affirmation and also helping them see that like their ideas matter Something that Dr Wheeler and I do, my co-founder when we start projects or when we start classroom time, we normally do like class appreciations instead of like class rules, class expectations.
Speaker 1:So it's almost like how can we agree, like even adults and students, like how can we agree on how we want to behave and treat each other during this experience? So the more you give students some type of I'll say, like agency or you know their own reason why they want to show up, I think you're going to have students who are actually going to want to show up in a positive way. So we always kind of ask them like what think you're going to have students who are actually going to want to show up in a positive way? So we always kind of ask them, like what do you guys want? What do you think, what do you want from us? So again, I've always been an inquisitive person, like as a kid, but I think, even more so now. I'm always asking everyone's why, no matter if you're a adult or not.
Speaker 2:Because I know I am often surprised by the answer to that question. It's not what I think is on their minds. It's often very different because they're looking at it through a completely different lens. Yes, so is there anybody that you'd like to give a shout out to?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Shout out to everybody who donated to us and plugging the website right now, wwwgreaterthanetechorg. Backslash donate. But definitely want to give a shout out to two people who have been extremely instrumental in getting greater than tech the visibility and just me like the type of encouragement I needed Atasola Akindele and Terrell Simmons from Rise Urban Nation. They have been so incredible with just like helping me see the value of what I'm doing, as well as just that positive talk that I need from time to time, as you know my being a oh yeah, it gets overwhelming and sometimes you just hear the negativity. But having people in your corner who can really say like you got this, you're doing fine, keep going, and actually be able to be there for you in a, you know, logistical way has, like really been a big piece of why we were as successful as we were this year for Greater Den Tech really been a big piece of why we were as successful as we were this year for Greater Dent Tech Nice.
Speaker 2:So great human beings. I'll put some links to their LinkedIn bios in the show notes, because they are amazing folks. Last and most important question what's your favorite snack?
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm kind of basic with snacks. I'll say like popcorn, like that's a good one um, what's the popcorn? I get it from holstead. If I know what the package looks like, I can't think of the name, but it's like this light popcorn. It's like pink and blue. It's really good, can't?
Speaker 2:take any popcorn, though. I mean popcorn is tasty and it's like low calories. You can eat the whole bag like that's. That's a good one, yeah, plus, it has emerged through a marvelous technology. I remember when I was a little kid my grandmother used to have the machine that you put the kernels in and it would pop and go into the bowl and now you just put in the microwave. A couple minutes later, boom, perfect.
Speaker 2:Every time yeah, so yeah, it's a good one, that's a good one, awesome. Well, thanks so much, jasmine, for coming on the program.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
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