December 19, 2025 • 49 mins
Inside the Canyons Innovation Center, a solution to America’s broken school-to-work pipeline
Walk into a traditional classroom almost anywhere in America and you will see a familiar scene: desks in rows and students sitting face-forward, learning largely the way their grandparents did. Outside those classroom walls, however, the world those students are preparing to enter has fundamentally changed.
America is re-onshoring industries and rediscovering the dignity of what it means to make things again. Artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping how work gets done. At the same time, the industries defining the next century of American competitiveness — advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, robotics, energy, cybersecurity, and engineering — face a talent pipeline crisis.
The country is at a reckoning point, one that requires public education to evolve to start preparing students as early as high school for immediate entry into these high-wage, high-demand careers, said Canyons District Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins. “Academic achievement is always going to be at the heart of what we do. But we really do need to lean into this philosophy of workforce readiness.”
That is the premise behind the Canyons Innovation Center, a high-tech, profession-based learning center coming in August 2027 to the former regional headquarters of eBay in Draper. The facility is not a school in the traditional sense. It is an R&D-inspired environment where students work with professionals to solve real-world business problems while earning college credit and industry certifications, and developing the work habits and skills that employers say they so desperately need.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyon School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach, and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great.
Students, teachers, principals,parents, and more.
We meet national experts too.
(00:21):
Learning is about makingconnections.
So connect with us.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
Today we have some specialguests in the studio, and we're
going to talk about an excitinginitiative to close the distance
between education, the highschool classroom in particular,
and the workplace.
I'm your host, Kirsten Stewart,and I have the privilege of
introducing our listeners tothree leaders who are helping us
confront one of the biggestchallenges in the United States
(00:48):
right now, and that is theshortage of skilled workers.
Most specifically, the shortagein aerospace, defense, advanced
manufacturing, AI, energy,robotics, and engineering.
These are industries that aregoing to define or help define
the next century of Americancompetitiveness.
They are also industries facinga talent pipeline crisis.
Unless we think how and when weprepare the next generation, our
(01:12):
nation risks falling behind.
Utah, with our rapidly expandingaerospace and defense sector, is
uniquely positioned to lead, butseizing that opportunity will
require building talent early,much earlier than we do so now.
High schools cannot be the finalstop before training.
They must become true on-rampsto the innovation economy.
(01:32):
So this is our purpose with theCanyons Innovation Center, a
high-tech learning hub openingsoon in the former regional
headquarters of eBay in Draper.
Now, the Innovation Center isnot a traditional school.
It's kind of an RD-inspienvironment, you know, where
students learn directly fromindustry professionals, earn
college credit, earn industrycertifications.
They leave with professionalportfolios.
(01:53):
And they're really, you know,developing those durable skills
that they need to succeed in theworkplace.
Um, those skills that ouremployers so desperately need.
And the innovation center isreally more than a building as
well.
It's kind of a strategicresponse, right, to this need
that we have uh for economicgrowth and uh the workforce
shortage that we face.
So I'm joined today by threeamazing leaders, uh, hoping to
(02:16):
bring this vision to life.
We have uh the superintendent ofCanyon School District, Dr.
Rick Robbins.
Welcome.
Uh Reed Newy, the director ofthe Innovation Center, and Aaron
Starks, CEO and president of47G, an organization working to
make Utah a national hub foraerospace and defense.
Welcome, you three.
SPEAKER_06 (02:34):
Thank you.
Good to have you here.
Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (02:36):
Yeah, thanks for being here.
Let's maybe start with you, Dr.
Robbins.
You know, you know, the tenantsof Canyons District, right?
One of the tenants isinnovation, and you came on
board in 2020, spring of 2020,with the charge of kind of
keeping that forefront for us asa district.
And when you kind of look atwhere our country is right now,
we're kind of re-on onshoring alot of industries.
We've got AI reshaping theworkforce.
(02:58):
What role do you see schoolslike the Canyons Innovation
Center having?
SPEAKER_04 (03:02):
Yeah, thank you for that, uh, Kirsten.
First, just want to welcomeAaron uh to our podcast as well
as Reed.
Uh it's such an honor for me tobe with these uh gentlemen and
and be able to learn from bothof them.
Um I I think they're two of thethe best in the business uh when
it comes to innovation.
I I think for me, um this issort of a reckoning in our
(03:25):
country.
And I think when you look atpictures, you know, of
traditional classrooms around1900 and you look at classrooms
today, there's not a lot ofdifference, uh, even now.
And so I think with all thereasons that you just laid out,
uh, there's a very compellingargument that school should not
(03:46):
look like school in thattraditional sense.
And so, you know, I I think forus, um, academic achievement is
always gonna be, you know, atthe heart of what we do.
But we really do need toreimagine and repurpose uh our
why.
And I think you mentioned this,but just leaning really leaning
into this philosophy ofworkforce readiness and and
(04:09):
building the skills that arenecessary that students are
gonna need uh to compete in theworkplace.
And as we've talked to industryleaders like Aaron, I I just I'm
so excited for this goldenopportunity in time that we're
able to combine forces uh in away that I don't know that it's
you know been done like this.
(04:29):
There's been a lot of attemptsat trying to to marry these
these philosophies of industryand education, but it seems like
you know, in education we'vekind of lagged behind a little
bit.
And so I'm I'm just thrilledthat our industry partners and
leaders like Aaron and Reed areare coming together to kind of
see that vision, you know, cometo pass.
(04:51):
And and for Canyons to be out infront of that, um, you know,
good for us, good for ourstudents.
And I I hope it ends up, youknow, being that that lighthouse
that not only helps guide ourdistrict, but but does reimagine
school for our state and ourcountry.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Yeah, well, it's a perfect start of the
conversation.
All right, Aaron, you are aglobally experienced workforce
strategist, right?
You've had a lot of experienceoverseas, and now you're helping
um, you know, expansion effortshere in Utah, kind of um
consulting on with companies,right, on global
competitiveness.
You're the CEO of 47G.
Um, from an industryperspective, what signals are
(05:27):
you seeing that tell us thatwe're sort of at this inflection
point, not just economically,but technologically and
culturally?
In other words, why is this theright time for industry and
education to be partnering?
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
You know, it's interesting.
Um, we're having a moment nowthat we can't actually read
about.
We can't go back and look athistory to learn about how to
handle the present or even howto prepare for the future, which
makes uh what we're doing reallychallenging, really um
important, and really unique.
Um, you know, I agree witheverything uh our great
(06:02):
superintendent just said.
Um our education system is veryantiquated.
And in a former life, I I usedto oversee global education for
Frank and Cubby.
So I had about a 10-year periodof my career where I just
traveled the world.
I'd walk through privateschools, public schools, um, in
about 23 countries.
I'd meet with faculty, staff,you know, administrators,
(06:22):
owners.
And they're all grappling withthe same things we are.
What's really interesting is umjust macroeconomically speaking,
we have a workforce, childrenthat are probably more
technologically inclined,certainly more technologically
inclined than any generationthat's ever walked the earth.
SPEAKER_05 (06:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:41):
With technology available at their fingertips
that is revolutionizing the waythat industries work and the way
that we live as human beings.
However, we also have aworkforce that struggles with
interpersonal skills.
And I know that this is a, youknow, this is a segment about
technology and national securityand fortifying the future for
(07:02):
the United States.
And I love all of that.
But AI will never replace ahuman's ability to lead people,
to communicate effectively, toset goals, to manage an
organization.
Um there, I mean, the data, thestatistics are overwhelming.
Thousands of employers arestruggling to hire talent that
(07:22):
can lead teams.
And so, as focused as we need tobe on technology, as much as
that will help us, protect us,we still need to produce great
human beings that can leadpeople.
Period.
And so I love the dual approachthat Canyon School District is
taking to developingwell-rounded leaders who can
(07:44):
work within technology.
So, with that as maybe a prefacefor the question itself, we're
living in a day and age where alot of the workforce is being
replaced and modernized byartificial intelligence and by
automated controls and systems.
Um, if you think back, and I'dnot to be long-winded, but when
(08:05):
we came out of World War II, weemerged as a global super
economy, right?
We could bend still andmanufacture aircraft and heavy
artillery and infrastructurefaster and better and with
higher quality than any nationaround the world.
It was a differentiating factor.
It created a lot of wealth herein the United States.
(08:26):
As we became more adept in thoseareas, we started to outsource
things that we thought were lessimportant: commodities,
manufacturing.
Um, and we kind of went into alittle bit of a lull from about
1960 to I would say 2000, wherewe outsourced um all of these
capabilities that we deemed lessimportant.
(08:49):
And we focused on enterprisesoftware, we focused on software
as a service, all of which arevery important.
But now that we have other umcountries that don't have our
best interests in mind aroundthe world, we're starting to
realize that we have kind ofleft the the wide the door wide
open and given them the keys toour house.
(09:09):
So now we're trying to reshoreonshore, we're trying to develop
capabilities in-house.
That's a really painful processto go through.
And so you're seeing executiveorders come out from the White
House, you're seeing umcongressional mandates to
procure technology to help thewar fighter.
Um, you're starting to see a newemerging class of technology
called frontier technology.
(09:31):
It's the culmination ofhardware, right?
We've got to manufacturerobotics, we've still got to
bend steel, we've still got tomake things, but we've also got
to bring that together withsoftware to operate it as the
user interface.
And the third component in allof this with the emergence of
technology is firmware.
We've got to protect thesoftware systems.
(09:51):
We've got to make sure that noone can get into those.
So if I'm a student right nowwatching this, I'm going to be
thinking, well, what area do Iwant to be in?
Do I want to be on the hardwareproduction side, which is a
really cool side?
And that will continue torevolutionize and be automated
and change.
Do I want to be on the firmwareside where it's cybersecurity,
(10:11):
uh, protecting our data?
Or do I want to be on thesoftware development side?
And right now the softwaredevelopment side is really tough
because it's being completelydisrupted by um artificial
intelligence.
Um, amazingly, I can go and haveChatGPT write an entire movie
for me.
I can ask it to write a code andgive it the parameters, and it
(10:34):
will do it just like that.
So if you're interested incoding your software
development, you have to beaware of that, knowing that um
systems are replacing personnel.
So it's a really interestingmoment.
It's exciting.
There's going to be a lot ofopportunities.
Uh, I think uh they say about60% of third graders now in
public schools around the uh theUnited States are going to apply
(10:55):
for a job in the next 15 yearsthat's not even created yet.
SPEAKER_05 (10:58):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:59):
And so, you know, it's kind of buckle up, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
So I mean, and that's both like I'm a parent,
right?
I come at this from a parent'sperspective, like frightening a
little bit, but also exciting,as you mentioned.
And Reed, I'm just wondering,too, just you know, playing off
what Aaron shared, theinnovation center, right?
As it sits sort of in thisrepurposed global tech head
headquarters, right?
We're reshaping, right?
(11:23):
A former tech giant.
And and what what about thatlocation or what about this
center, even not just from afacility standpoint, but from
how we're gonna build it out andand shape it, um, is gonna
prepare students for you knowthe workplaces that they're
gonna lead, workplaces thatdon't even exist yet.
SPEAKER_03 (11:42):
Well, well, thank you, Kirsten.
And and it's such a pleasure tobe here with uh Rick and Aaron.
Uh the superintendent has had uhuh uh really a corner on the
market of visionary educationfor the past 20 years, and the
district is fortunate to havehim leading it.
And Aaron is uh, you know, uhjust such a uh uh bright, uh
(12:06):
pertinent and timely mind tohave uh leading the aerospace
and and defense sector, uhbringing them together, and just
has such an abundance mentalitythat is really conducive to what
we're trying to do at theInnovation Center and for our
kids.
Um to your question, you know,the location of it is is crucial
(12:31):
in terms of it's really at apivotal point uh physically uh
in the state and in kind of thethe industrial learning uh uh
futuristic setting for ourstate.
Uh there's such great industrythat surrounds uh the center.
There's great learning.
You look where it's positionedbetween Salt Lake Community,
(12:55):
University of Utah, UVU, uh BYU,uh you know, you know, and uh
certainly can access WeaverState, Utah State.
We we currently access all ofthose, all of those higher
learning institutions will movewith us to the center and have a
great influence there.
To what uh uh Aaron's talkingabout, you know, we want to give
(13:18):
our students a profession-basedlearning experience.
Um you've seen uh many of thelarger companies, uh the
national companies, have reallymoved from a knowledge-based
hiring platform to askills-based hiring platform.
And uh what we want to do at thecenter is right in line with
(13:40):
what Aaron and thesuperintendent have both touched
on, and that is we've got tocreate an environment that gives
our students the ability to uhuse their intuitive nature in
terms of being technologicallyadvanced, and and couple with
that an opportunity to developthe durable skills and the
(14:04):
durable dispositions thatAaron's talking about, uh
leadership, creativity, problemsolving, working as a team, and
and so that's been our main uhuh focus and and is is really
the kind of the center point ofwhat we're trying to uh develop
at the center, and that's goingto be something that doesn't
(14:26):
look like school has looked likein the past.
You know, I I I like to uh uhkind of this the statement of
you know, we spend the firstfive years encouraging kids to
talk and move around, and thenthe next 12 to shut up and sit
down.
We've got to uh uh reallycapitalize on that intuitive
(14:48):
nature and develop that with theskills that industry needs to
support it, uh to support thattechnological learning that we
can give them opportunitythrough a profession-based model
and with partnership uh withcompanies like 40 or with groups
like 47G.
They bring so many uh greatcompanies together.
(15:10):
And so it's just just aphenomenal opportunity for us
and really a chance to put uhCanyon's District and and the
Innovation Center at the centerof what uh forward-thinking
education looks like.
unknown (15:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (15:26):
Yeah, I just to add on to that, uh Reed, I I've
heard you say often, you know,describing what that might look
like at the center as collisionpoints when you have students
and educators and industryleaders, you know, all bumping
into each other and workingtogether uh in in these points
(15:47):
of interaction throughout theday.
And I just can only imagine howdifferent that might be for some
of our students and how excitingthat is, that they really, they
really get to feel that sense ofprofessional accountability and
they're mentored, kind of goingback to Aaron's point that that
you know, those are theinteractions that we remember
(16:08):
that really define us and kindof you know refine us.
And so I I think um it'sexciting to see that unfold and
maybe in a different way thanwhat we've ever seen before.
unknown (16:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
And and what I hear you saying too, Reed, is
profession-based learning,right?
These students are gonna beworking on actual projects.
You know, a company's gonna comein and they're gonna have a, you
know, maybe a back burnerproject that they need some help
on.
They'll present it to thestudents.
The students are work on it.
And through that experience,they're gonna learn more about,
you know, they're gonna learnabout writing and communication,
but they're also gonna belearning critical thinking,
collaboration, working withteammates, you know, like
(16:41):
compensating for each other'sfailings and weaknesses and um
learning to lead out onsomething.
So yeah, those are vital skillsthat, like to both of your
points, AI can't replace.
Right, right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:52):
Well, well, and it's really twofold, Kirsten.
If I can add to that, in that,you know, we're we're going to
develop uh a partnership that's,you know, uh, like I said, Aaron
has been just a phenomenal voicealready for an abundance mindset
and someone that's willing toactually invest in in what
(17:14):
they're talking about and investin our kids.
Uh they didn't have to host uh,you know, 150 of our kids at
their uh premier uh conference.
That conference was intended forbusiness leaders, for uh uh
players in the aerospace anddefense industries, and they
hosted us and created a whole uhuh track for our students, which
(17:38):
was outstanding.
But besides that, we uh are aretaking uh some of our programs
and uh uh infusing them withtechnology, with uh
industry-based uh equipment andtools so that we can generate
our own industry-basedexperience for students right
(18:00):
there at the center.
For instance, with our mediaarts and our media creation
programs, our CSD TV is going toplay such a pivotal role there,
and we anticipate uh being ableto service multiple industries
uh while we develop our studentsin video and arts productions,
(18:24):
media uh uh uh production andand use of media to accelerate
business.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
Yeah, I um I'm curious, actually, in hearing
you all three talk because it,you know, like you said,
industry partners don't have tonecessarily partner with
education, right?
It's a sort of like an extrathing to be asking them to do.
Um when you first toured theInnovation Center, what
potential did you see, or youknow, what what got you
interested in what's reshapingeducation?
SPEAKER_02 (18:54):
Can I push back on something you just said?
Sure.
I may have a a bit of a nuancedview on this.
You just said, you know,industry partners don't have to
go and do that.
I actually think they do.
Um workforce development hasbecome way overly complex in my
mind.
And I don't think it's the roleof the government to create
(19:17):
programs to help with workforce.
I think it's industry's role.
When I sit down with an industryleader, a CEO, and they say,
Well, we just we just simplydon't have enough students,
entry-level workers, compositeengineers, whatever it is.
My question to them is always,Well, how many students have you
taken out to lunch this pastquarter?
They kind of look at me and theygo, Well, look, I went to Duke
(19:38):
University.
I was really, really lucky theylet a boy from northern Utah
into Duke.
I always knew when McKinsey,Bain, BCG, or Fortune 500
company was on campus becausethey emailed me and they wanted
to go out to lunch with me.
Wow.
Now the beauty in that processis that I sat down, learned from
them about their company.
They looked me in the eye.
(19:59):
I I felt like they had aninterest in me.
And when I left that lunch, Iwas connected on LinkedIn to an
executive.
Now, the probability of me goingto work for a company who's done
that for me astronomicallyhigher.
Yeah.
And so we're kind of in thisstate where companies are
saying, Well, they're just notproducing enough.
Well, go out and compete.
(20:19):
Yeah.
Go, you know, go sit down withuh with with Reed or the
superintendent.
Tell them about your needs.
That's your job.
Hiring employees is your job,right?
So I think our role here at 47Gis really to bring industry in
closer proximity to educatorsand students.
Hence the reason that we webring students to our um to our
(20:41):
conference, right?
It's the future of the state,it's the future of the
workforce.
And so um, look, if you want togrow any industry, the input is
is always uh human capital.
So why not start earlier in thein the process?
And so 47G is really trying tomake this industry more
competitive by doing that,forging relationships with with
(21:01):
your group, superintendent.
And and by the way, kudos to youfor being an early mover, having
big vision, and for creatingsomething unique and different.
And our goal is to help youstaff it with CEOs and
executives from companies whocan come spend time with
students because students needto hear from their mouth.
SPEAKER_04 (21:21):
Yeah, I I couldn't agree more.
I I really appreciate the thekind words.
I just going back to theconference, you know, our our
students are they're so hungryfor that experience and and
they're they're seekingrelevance and rigor and and a
place, right?
And it doesn't take away fromtheir experience every day at
their at their high schools, butbut they really they want to see
(21:44):
the future and want to see wheredo they fit in it, right?
And how are they going tocontribute?
And I and I just, you know, thatday uh listening to our students
and and just seeing how engagedand excited they were to be
around all these executives.
Yeah, I mean, that's that's likean experience, as you said,
they'll never forget.
And and it will serve them, ourstate, our country so much
(22:06):
better and serve us well.
So, so thank you for thatopportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
Well, and I'll and I'll just say this too you have
an innovation center beingbuilt.
You're gonna have greattechnology, there's gonna be
great curriculum offered,there's gonna be projects to
enhance learning, all of that'simportant.
But you know as well as I dothat teenagers hardly listen to
their parents, and sometimeslistening to teachers is even
harder.
Okay.
And so I think as we all hearkenback to our own experience as
(22:32):
students, if a teacher wastelling us to do it, we felt
like it might not be necessary.
It's just to pass the class orto get a grade, right?
I just need to get this done.
But if an industry leader or acompany prominent in the valley
came and said, Hey, you over thenext six weeks, you're gonna be
participating in a project toenhance skills.
(22:52):
And by the way, these are theskills I need to hire.
They listen, they listen a bitdifferently.
Yeah, right.
Because they they recognize thatit's relevant, relevant
education.
By the way, not a lot ofeducation is relevant.
Yeah.
And that's what you startedwith, superintendent.
It's we want to createwell-rounded individuals, but I
don't know that we're doing thatreal well in the modern society
(23:13):
that we live in.
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
I'm curious what you hear from your industry partners
on that front.
Like as they've engaged withstudents at, you know, in venues
like this conference, do theyfind it to be equally gratifying
experiences like the studentsand the teachers?
I mean, do you find that it'svaluable for them, value added?
SPEAKER_02 (23:30):
I think they love it.
Um, I think all of them weredepleted of candy and swag after
the students came through.
So that was a hard thing.
So they were like, next yearwe're gonna, we're gonna triple
our amount.
Um, but they all they all seethe wisdom in it, right?
And industry's learning too howto do things differently.
And I I mean, we're just look,Utah, number one economy in the
(23:52):
nation, um, most diverseeconomy.
We have every industry in theworld right in our backyard.
There's so many things goingwell for us.
But I feel like um I feel likewe have over rotated a little
bit on workforce development.
Industry's got to step up,period.
SPEAKER_04 (24:09):
So well, uh one thing I noticed at the
conference was at the very endwe did a group photo, and more
and more executives kept comingup.
Hey, can I get a phone can I getin this photo?
They all wanted a picture fortheir social media, you know.
So I think the kids, all thestudents were kind of eating
that up.
It was uh it was fun.
SPEAKER_02 (24:28):
Well, thanks for sharing that.
SPEAKER_04 (24:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:29):
Talking about how maybe we've gone, we've we've
pivoted too far in a directionwhen it comes to workforce
preparedness as a country.
And you're also talking about,you know, preparing students for
the careers we don't know aboutyet.
So looking at the InnovationCenter and kind of um the kinds
of programs that we could havethere or the kinds of industries
that we should be partneringwith, what should rise to the
top of our priority list, wouldyou say?
SPEAKER_02 (24:52):
Um, a couple of ideas, priorities in no
particular order.
One, I think we need to have aspeaker series.
I think that um once a month weshould have an industry
executive come in and talk aboutwhat their company does, show
them the pitch video, um, tellthem about some of the exciting
initiatives coming down, youknow, the pipeline.
Um, students don't know whatthey don't know.
(25:15):
That's easy.
By the way, that auditorium youguys have, awesome.
Awesome.
Right?
It's a big stage, it's aninspiring atmosphere.
Let them be inspired by industryexecutives who are solving
really cool problems every day.
So I would say having a speakerseries is going to be great.
Um, two, I I think that inbetween school years, I think
(25:38):
that uh we need to bringcompanies like Boeing in and
others where these students cango and intern, even if even if
it's for a week.
Let them go get experience in aclassroom or or outside the
classroom rather, in a companyfor a week.
Um give them some confidence.
One of the biggest challengesthat we're facing in in
(25:58):
education right now isself-efficacy, the belief that
we can do hard things.
Students are not, students arenot having to accomplish hard
things at young ages.
Social media and the and themental health crisis associated
with that represent the hardestthings.
But let them go out, experiencea project, go and get
uncomfortable meeting people,and then socializing in a
(26:21):
workplace all before theygraduate high school.
Confidence is through the roofat that point, right?
It's just a continuation of anexperience they've already had.
So um, yeah, I would sayspeaking, um, speaking
engagements, um, and thencompany tours and uh, you know,
externships or internships,however we want to position
those.
But, you know, we want to behelpful with all of that.
(26:42):
Um, Reed and I had lunchrecently, and I told them, hey,
like let us be a partnerbringing these opportunities to
you.
We're at our best when we'reable to do that.
And uh, and so, you know,superintendent, under your
leadership, I think, you know,great opportunities are ahead of
us.
Yeah, that that's superexciting.
SPEAKER_04 (26:58):
I I I think, you know, just the, as you
mentioned, thinking aboutself-efficacy and and capacity,
right, to just building thosenetworks and those connections.
And and I think back to my owncareer and and how often, you
know, if if you just take alittle bit of opportunity to put
yourself out there, the benefitsare endless.
(27:20):
You you you you meet people andyou build those relationships
and and and it's lasting, right?
To this day through my career.
I still have those connectionsand those contacts.
So it is so important for ouryoung people to to really
develop those skills.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (27:36):
I'm curious actually, for this is a question
for all three of you, but um,you know, what does it mean to
to cultivate that level oftalent starting in high school?
I mean, what would you say topeople who say, uh, they're too
young, they're not readydevelopmentally for certain
things?
What would you say to that?
SPEAKER_03 (27:53):
Well, I'll start, Kirsten.
Uh I've never seen that be thecase.
Uh it went you know, and and yougo back to exactly what Aaron
just said, uh uh give kids, putmake kids in maybe maybe an
uncomfortable spot and and teachthem how to rise to the
occasion.
I've I've just never seen astudent shrink from that
(28:16):
opportunity when you surroundthem with uh the ability, the
support, and and great tools.
SPEAKER_01 (28:26):
Yeah, I have to agree.
SPEAKER_02 (28:27):
Um can I can I just say m maybe I'm having a little
bit of uh an epiphany here?
But I I think we're out of placeas a society where we have more
confidence in technology than wedo people, and that's a really
sad thing.
Yeah.
And I I mean, you don't have tolook back very far, um, a
(28:48):
hundred years maybe, where wherekids were not going to school at
all, they were providing fortheir families.
Like they haven't lost thatability, they haven't lost the
potential, they've lost thatopportunity, right?
But still people can do hardthings.
That's the self-efficacy.
Like let them swim, right?
(29:09):
They, you know, if they strugglefor a few minutes, they'll
figure it out.
They have to.
And so, but we've become socomfortable taking opportunities
and responsibilities and and uhyou know other things away from
them and replacing them withtechnology that now they're
they're not they're forgettinghow to network, right?
The innate ability tocommunicate with someone else.
(29:32):
I just think we have to get backto the fundamentals and not be
afraid of them.
So was that harsh?
Is that a harsh thing to say?
SPEAKER_04 (29:40):
I I I think the points are well taken.
And um, I'd take it even a stepfurther.
I mean, we we've basically in alot of ways remove failure.
Uh, you know, and uh you thinkback for all of us that are uh
older, failure w was a big partof growing up, you know, and and
there there wasn't a reliance ontechnology.
(30:00):
There was a reliance on eachother.
And when you did fail, you know,really picking yourself back up
and and being resilient.
And and I think that this hasadded to that, you know, to that
dilemma that we're in.
So I I think there's just somany opportunities to help kind
of rebuild and reimagine whatthat looks like.
Yeah.
So yeah, well said.
SPEAKER_01 (30:23):
Um kind of going back to what we started with a
little bit in terms of the thethe workplace and those needs
there.
Are there certain industriesthat um you know you're pushing
for, promoting for Utah toembrace?
I mean, we already have a lot ofstrength in aerospace and
defense, right?
SPEAKER_02 (30:38):
I mean, is that yeah, it's it's amazing.
Um aerospace, defense space,those three technology
categories represent 20% of thestate's GDP on an ideal basis.
And what's really amazing aboutthat is that these are higher
paying, more sustainable wages.
(30:59):
And so um look, if you want ajob, go to another industry.
If you want a career, come toours.
That's kind of the way I frameit.
Um you will work on the mostinspiring technology that
mankind has ever known.
I don't think mankind hascreated anything more inspiring
than an airplane, a rocket.
(31:20):
It it literally transcends ourlevel of thinking.
Um, we had an electric air taxicome to the state about a year
ago.
We flew it to six differentlocations.
Ahead of the 2034 Olympics,we're working on Project Alta,
which is a statewide initiativeto create a hybrid electric
transportation system forOlympic athletes, public, and to
(31:43):
deliver parcels, packages inpartnership with UPS and other
carriers.
So we're having a moment, thingsare really accelerating.
We put that aircraft in front ofuh, you know, six different
audiences across the state.
And like they like you wouldstare at a campfire, they just
they just sit and they stare atthis airplane.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Well, it seems unbelievable, right?
SPEAKER_02 (32:04):
It does, yeah.
It it does, and yet it's it'shappening, and it it's going to
continue happening.
And um, so we need students whoare just inspired by the
industry.
And look, you'll get paid well.
Um, here's what's amazing uh500,000 jobs are tied to this
industry for every job createdin aerospace and defense in the
(32:27):
state, it creates another 1.8 inthe economy.
SPEAKER_05 (32:30):
Wow.
That's that's amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:32):
It is.
It's it's really, reallyawesome.
And so um and the breadth anddepth uh of of the industry
itself is interesting.
I used a term earlier calleddual use technology.
That's become a thing in thepast six, eight years.
But essentially, these arecommercial companies that are
developing products or servicesthat can also be used for
(32:53):
defense purposes, hence the dualnature.
SPEAKER_05 (32:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:57):
And dual use technology is is rapidly
emerging in Utah.
Um, radars, sensors, satellites,drones, these are all dual-use
technologies, aircraft.
So um, you know, the invitationis as strong as it's ever been.
Uh, with over 600 companiescompeting in this space, Delta's
fastest growing hub anywhere inthe US, right here in Utah, et
(33:20):
cetera, et cetera, like this isthe place you want to be.
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (33:25):
Well, and that just like reminds me of that what the
center really all is all aboutis right reminding students of
what it's possible, right?
Speaking of the aerospace anddefense fields, uh the way I
hear you talking about it isit's much as uh of an economic
imperative imperative as it is asafety or or right imperative.
Like stick to that a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (33:44):
Yeah, it um, you know, we have our national
security apparatus as a country,and that's largely dependent on
a few things.
One, our ability to makenecessary technologies,
manufacture the products thatour war fighters need, right?
Um, but the face of nationalsecurity is changing quite a
bit.
President Trump announcedsomething.
(34:05):
I think it's the the um thelargest defense initiative we've
ever had in the United States.
It's called Golden Dome.
Do you guys remember this atall?
Essentially, in Israel, theyhave the Iron Dome.
Golden Dome will be a virtualapparatus that will be able to
detect and protect airspaceabove the contiguous United
(34:26):
States.
So nothing could ever penetrateour airspace.
Think about how massive that is,right?
The land mass in the UnitedStates is huge.
Protecting that by a virtualintegrated radar system that can
conduct intelligence,surveillance reconnaissance, be
able to detect things coming infrom outer space, it it it it
(34:47):
represents a huge economicopportunity.
Now, to make that happen, you'vegot companies at all levels that
are gonna have to participate inmanufacturing hardware, uh in
the satellite industry, etc.
Um, all of that's happening, sowhich is why over a trillion
dollars of uh venture capitalwill be put into this space over
(35:08):
the next 10 years.
Not a B, a T.
Trillion.
SPEAKER_05 (35:12):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:12):
A trillion dollars.
It's it's changing.
Everything is changing.
So we uh we just have this greatexcitement, and I hope you guys
feel it for me, that this is notgoing away for 10 years.
And so if you're a student, getin now.
Go build with a company that'sgonna do great things, right?
You'll protect yourselfeconomically um by doing that,
(35:35):
but also you'll be able toparticipate in solving some of
mankind's greatest challenges,you know.
So, and I could go on and on andall.
I'll I'll stop myself.
I think it's great.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (35:45):
It's inspirational.
And and um, and at the sametime, we're sort of working on
preparing students for the needsof today, right?
We've got huge needs in thehealthcare industry.
Yeah, we have huge needs inconstruction, um, manufacturing.
I mean, I think I saw thisarticle in the Wall Street
Journal that said somethinglike, Here's here's what we're
calling construction workersnow, the new millionaires.
Like there's venture capitalmoney going into those
(36:05):
companies.
And so talk a little bit aboutsome of those programs too,
Reed.
I know that we're working on umwe've got a whole uh building
that we're we're right, thatwe're creating out there at the
Innovation Center that willhouse some of those programs.
SPEAKER_03 (36:19):
Right.
Our our professional trades, ourour welding, our uh home
manufacturing, homeconstruction, our uh
cosmetology, and our heavydiesel mechanics, all of those
are crucial to you know, all ofour cybersecur, just like our
(36:39):
cybersecurity, our health care,uh all of our other industries
we're preparing for.
You know, and and I think it'sit's it's crucial that one of
the things that that isimportant with everything about
the conversations we're havingtoday is you know, we can't
compartmentalize uh either thedurable skills and and
(37:03):
developing people.
Uh we can't do that in acompartment.
We can't develop the industrycompartment in terms of
technology and technology use.
We've got to bring all of thattogether, and that's what we
intend to do at the center.
Uh we want to take uh uh andcontinue to have great a great
welding program, but we alsowant to develop an
(37:27):
entrepreneurial spirit in everyone of our welders so that they
can transition and be flexibleand moldable to any industry
that comes along in terms ofapplying their welding skill.
Same with heavy diesel, samewith cosmetology, this the same
with our cybersecurity uh uhstudents.
(37:48):
So, you know, and and we reallywant to one of the advantages of
having a center like this iswe're going to be able to take
an idea that's developed in thebusiness and entrepreneurial
group and go get uh uh aprototype made by by a welder
and take it over to ourmanufacturing shop and and add
(38:11):
some components there uh withanother team and then develop a
business plan and then uh putsome media to it and market it
uh uh from every aspect thatthat all products are marketed
today.
So, you know, uh the there it'sjust unlimited opportunity.
(38:32):
But uh to to the specificquestion, Kirsten, yes, our our
trades, you know, we've got uhgreat programs right now.
We're going to make them evenbetter uh and and have more
industry influence andparticipation with those.
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
And I know a lot of those programs have waiting
lists.
We're gonna better be able tomeet that demand.
Um and too, I'm thinking alittle bit about where this
innovation sits in the ecosystemof education, right?
You've got all of these schoolsthat are building foundational
knowledge, right?
Math, writing, reading, um,science.
And then from there, you've gotthe innovation center kind of
being like this sort of pinnacleexperience where a lot of like
(39:12):
the skills and knowledge thatstudents have built through the
years are going to like put thatinto practice and start doing it
a little earlier than maybe wehave asked them to do so in the
past.
And then another vision, if I'mI've heard you talk about this,
superintendent, um, is to havesome of the project-based
learning that is there kind offilter back down through the
system so that we're encouragingstudents at a really young age
(39:34):
to be creative and work with onhands-on projects and think of
some of these possibilities thatare in their future in 10, 8, 7
years.
SPEAKER_04 (39:43):
Yeah, yeah.
If you you know, if you reallystudy and research, excuse me,
research, you know, educationaluh models and instructional
design, you know, one of themost successful models is
backward mapping, right?
And and really looking at thefuture.
Future first, and then fromthere backward mapping all the
(40:03):
skills and everything that youneed to get to that point.
And so it's kind of that, youknow, having that end in mind as
you build it out.
The exciting thing for me isthat you know, not there's not
very many opportunities whereyou get to actually design that
anchor point or design thatlighthouse.
(40:24):
Most of the time in mostsystems, um, you know, that's
already in place.
And so it's very, very difficultto move that needle in in
education that, as we mentioned,has been, you know, so slow to
move.
But in this situation, we havethe opportunity to do just that.
And so, you know, I I think ourvision for it is as this
(40:44):
unrolls, many of thedispositions, the practices, the
norms of what happens in theinnovation center will, you
know, backward map and unfold inour high schools and in our
middle schools and all the waydown to our elementaries, uh,
you know, where we see theseopportunities for kids to start
as early as kindergarten.
SPEAKER_01 (41:05):
Yeah.
So And we heard that from someof our industry advisory
partners, right, Reed?
That they were they wereencouraging us to get kids even
at the youngest of ages to sortof start.
SPEAKER_03 (41:16):
Well, yeah.
And and one of the things uhthat you know is unique about
the center is we're going tohave a partnership with the STEM
Action Center uh on the campus.
So that's going to be a realnice opportunity for us.
You know, you think of a 47G'spresence being able to uh start
(41:36):
uh uh at such a young age ofhaving that association and an
opportunity to be exposed to uhindustry at that kind of level
uh through through work with theSTEM Action Center.
SPEAKER_05 (41:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (41:51):
Okay, well we're gonna, I know we've been here
for a while.
I really appreciate you all umtaking some time today.
I want to just maybe um concludewith a couple of questions.
And one is, you know, what kindof impact could this kind of
education have nationwide if weget it right?
Do we think?
Feel free to anyone can chimein.
SPEAKER_04 (42:10):
I mean, for me, it's a game changer.
I I I think it really it setsthe stage um to reimagine, you
know, what education, especiallypublic education, can be.
And I I see it as as reallylifting and floating all boats,
right?
I I think we've already heardfrom lots of other districts
(42:30):
around the country that havewanted to come and visit uh to
really get their minds aroundthis idea that, hey, this is
something different.
This isn't we're just in thatspace of time where we have this
amazing opportunity to toreshape what education looks,
you know, looks like and what itdoes for our students and what
opportunities that it canprovide.
(42:52):
So I I think um you know it'llserve as a lighthouse to the
rest of the country.
And and there are models outthere.
We visited, you know, differentinnovation centers from all the
way from the East Coast to toTexas to uh you know the West
Coast.
So so I that there is momentum,right?
There are people out there thatget this vision that want to be
(43:13):
part and want to be part ofsomething special.
SPEAKER_01 (43:15):
Yeah.
It's exciting.
SPEAKER_02 (43:18):
I think it has the the potential to become
something revolutionary for theUS.
I I would add one suggestion tothe model, though.
Um we're gonna teach studentshow to build things, we're gonna
give them access to industry,we're gonna give them greater
exposure.
(43:39):
Um but I think the outcome orone way we're gonna measure
success is how many studentstake ideas that they've learned
or skills that they've learnedand go and create their own
companies.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Um and that's a that's a longerterm metric to measure success.
So this is just a suggestion,superintendent, but as they
(44:03):
graduate and as they leave theirexperience, connecting them with
people who can write checks, whocan vet ideas, and teaching them
how to create a pitch deck sothey can propose to investors, I
think is going to be a reallynecessary element in all of
this, because then they're morewell-rounded and equipped.
And so if we can bring all ofthose components together, it
(44:26):
will truly be something special.
SPEAKER_04 (44:27):
Yeah, 100% agree.
And um, we will definitely dothat.
I I think to add to that as wellis you know, really
strengthening our alumni baseand inviting them back.
You know, I I I don't think uhoften enough do we have our
alumni that go out and do thatactually come back and talk to
(44:48):
their, you know, their theirpeers, the students that are in
the school now.
So so I think the InnovationCenter, along with our high
schools, really affords thatopportunity to to build that
alumni base as they go out andthey and and we we track that as
they create their own companiesand and they do um whatever it
(45:08):
is they're gonna do, is that wegive them the opportunity to
come back off and then to toshare, you know, and uh really
share that impart that knowledgewith the students that are here
are here in the in theinnovation center now.
SPEAKER_01 (45:22):
So you know what I'm hearing, Reed?
I'm hearing that we need tostart a fundraising arm and a
venture capital fund.
SPEAKER_03 (45:29):
Well, yeah, well, we'll we'll get to work on that.
I I couldn't agree more.
And uh, you know, I just justthe simple tracking and and
keeping uh those uh connectionsis it will be a real uh key
factor as well.
SPEAKER_01 (45:49):
Well, for for all of you, maybe some closing
thoughts.
Um, what message would you sharewith students today who are
listening about whether theybelong in a place like the
Innovation Center?
Um, you know, kind of what wouldyou want a student to know about
their purpose?
SPEAKER_04 (46:04):
Well, uh I'll lead off with this.
Every time I'm out at theInnovation Center, just as I
walk into the building, um, youknow, just a strong sense of
pride and and and really uhhumility all at the same time.
This was not my high schoolexperience, you know, and and to
just see the depth and thebreadth of what that campus
(46:25):
looks like and the deepcommitment by our board and our
industry partners and you know,everybody in our state that has
really come forward to to justoffer their energy and their
time and their resources.
I hope, I hope our students arepaying attention to that because
this this is this is for them.
(46:45):
Um you know, our future, ourdemocracy is in the balance.
And and so I I think for ourschool community and all of our
partners to go all in uh on thisventure, I hope says a lot to
our young people that wow, thisis for me, right?
Because it this isn'teverywhere.
SPEAKER_05 (47:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (47:05):
And so I I think as they see that and they see this
commitment level, um, I thinkthat says a lot.
And and to me, for our youngpeople that are listening, or
you know, come out andexperience it.
You know, if you get a chance,come out and take a tour, get
excited about what's there andwhat your future, you know,
might might look like.
SPEAKER_01 (47:24):
Yeah.
I mean, you walk in there,right?
And you what you see is like,wow, what what's happening here
feels really important, right?
Which means like what I'm gonnabe doing here is important,
right?
Which I'm what I'm doing ismatters.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (47:36):
Um Stephen Covey uh taught us the seven habits,
right?
He took he took true principlesand put them into a process
that's easier for us tounderstand.
Um and so I guess my my advicefor any student who watches this
is um to write a missionstatement, to go in there
(47:58):
beginning with the end in mind,um, which is habit number two,
right?
Have a map for what you want tocreate.
Everything we we do in life hastwo creations, the mental
creation and the physicalcreation.
And so have a really strong why.
Because if you have a why, thenyou can figure out the how.
But if you don't have the why,when things get get hard, you
(48:21):
typically don't see thingsthrough.
So as you begin yourentrepreneurial journey, have a
really strong why, and that willhelp you understand who you are.
I think that's a really, reallycore principle for all of us.
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (48:33):
Reed, you have any final thoughts for us?
SPEAKER_03 (48:36):
I I don't have anything to add to either of
those two, other than just uh,you know, these are two of the
greatest uh leaders we could uhhave, uh leading uh uh Aaron and
the uh our state in such a greateconomic sector, uh and and all
the things he's doing to provideleadership for the state and
(48:59):
really leading out there, andthen the superintendent.
We're going to create anopportunity for students and and
we hope they'll come and andreally uh uh launch their
future.
SPEAKER_01 (49:12):
Well, I'm excited to see it take take shape, and I'm
excited to be working on it withyou both and continuing the
conversation.
Hopefully, we can get togetheragain and check in on progress.
SPEAKER_02 (49:22):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (49:24):
Thank you for being there.
SPEAKER_02 (49:25):
Thanks, Burst.
SPEAKER_00 (49:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,Facebook, or Instagram at
Canyons District, or on ourwebsite, CanyonsDistrict.org.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyon School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach, and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great.
Students, teachers, principals,parents, and more.
We meet national experts too.
(00:21):
Learning is about makingconnections.
So connect with us.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
Today we have some specialguests in the studio, and we're
going to talk about an excitinginitiative to close the distance
between education, the highschool classroom in particular,
and the workplace.
I'm your host, Kirsten Stewart,and I have the privilege of
introducing our listeners tothree leaders who are helping us
confront one of the biggestchallenges in the United States
(00:48):
right now, and that is theshortage of skilled workers.
Most specifically, the shortagein aerospace, defense, advanced
manufacturing, AI, energy,robotics, and engineering.
These are industries that aregoing to define or help define
the next century of Americancompetitiveness.
They are also industries facinga talent pipeline crisis.
Unless we think how and when weprepare the next generation, our
(01:12):
nation risks falling behind.
Utah, with our rapidly expandingaerospace and defense sector, is
uniquely positioned to lead, butseizing that opportunity will
require building talent early,much earlier than we do so now.
High schools cannot be the finalstop before training.
They must become true on-rampsto the innovation economy.
(01:32):
So this is our purpose with theCanyons Innovation Center, a
high-tech learning hub openingsoon in the former regional
headquarters of eBay in Draper.
Now, the Innovation Center isnot a traditional school.
It's kind of an RD-inspienvironment, you know, where
students learn directly fromindustry professionals, earn
college credit, earn industrycertifications.
They leave with professionalportfolios.
(01:53):
And they're really, you know,developing those durable skills
that they need to succeed in theworkplace.
Um, those skills that ouremployers so desperately need.
And the innovation center isreally more than a building as
well.
It's kind of a strategicresponse, right, to this need
that we have uh for economicgrowth and uh the workforce
shortage that we face.
So I'm joined today by threeamazing leaders, uh, hoping to
(02:16):
bring this vision to life.
We have uh the superintendent ofCanyon School District, Dr.
Rick Robbins.
Welcome.
Uh Reed Newy, the director ofthe Innovation Center, and Aaron
Starks, CEO and president of47G, an organization working to
make Utah a national hub foraerospace and defense.
Welcome, you three.
SPEAKER_06 (02:34):
Thank you.
Good to have you here.
Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (02:36):
Yeah, thanks for being here.
Let's maybe start with you, Dr.
Robbins.
You know, you know, the tenantsof Canyons District, right?
One of the tenants isinnovation, and you came on
board in 2020, spring of 2020,with the charge of kind of
keeping that forefront for us asa district.
And when you kind of look atwhere our country is right now,
we're kind of re-on onshoring alot of industries.
We've got AI reshaping theworkforce.
(02:58):
What role do you see schoolslike the Canyons Innovation
Center having?
SPEAKER_04 (03:02):
Yeah, thank you for that, uh, Kirsten.
First, just want to welcomeAaron uh to our podcast as well
as Reed.
Uh it's such an honor for me tobe with these uh gentlemen and
and be able to learn from bothof them.
Um I I think they're two of thethe best in the business uh when
it comes to innovation.
I I think for me, um this issort of a reckoning in our
(03:25):
country.
And I think when you look atpictures, you know, of
traditional classrooms around1900 and you look at classrooms
today, there's not a lot ofdifference, uh, even now.
And so I think with all thereasons that you just laid out,
uh, there's a very compellingargument that school should not
(03:46):
look like school in thattraditional sense.
And so, you know, I I think forus, um, academic achievement is
always gonna be, you know, atthe heart of what we do.
But we really do need toreimagine and repurpose uh our
why.
And I think you mentioned this,but just leaning really leaning
into this philosophy ofworkforce readiness and and
(04:09):
building the skills that arenecessary that students are
gonna need uh to compete in theworkplace.
And as we've talked to industryleaders like Aaron, I I just I'm
so excited for this goldenopportunity in time that we're
able to combine forces uh in away that I don't know that it's
you know been done like this.
(04:29):
There's been a lot of attemptsat trying to to marry these
these philosophies of industryand education, but it seems like
you know, in education we'vekind of lagged behind a little
bit.
And so I'm I'm just thrilledthat our industry partners and
leaders like Aaron and Reed areare coming together to kind of
see that vision, you know, cometo pass.
(04:51):
And and for Canyons to be out infront of that, um, you know,
good for us, good for ourstudents.
And I I hope it ends up, youknow, being that that lighthouse
that not only helps guide ourdistrict, but but does reimagine
school for our state and ourcountry.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Yeah, well, it's a perfect start of the
conversation.
All right, Aaron, you are aglobally experienced workforce
strategist, right?
You've had a lot of experienceoverseas, and now you're helping
um, you know, expansion effortshere in Utah, kind of um
consulting on with companies,right, on global
competitiveness.
You're the CEO of 47G.
Um, from an industryperspective, what signals are
(05:27):
you seeing that tell us thatwe're sort of at this inflection
point, not just economically,but technologically and
culturally?
In other words, why is this theright time for industry and
education to be partnering?
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
You know, it's interesting.
Um, we're having a moment nowthat we can't actually read
about.
We can't go back and look athistory to learn about how to
handle the present or even howto prepare for the future, which
makes uh what we're doing reallychallenging, really um
important, and really unique.
Um, you know, I agree witheverything uh our great
(06:02):
superintendent just said.
Um our education system is veryantiquated.
And in a former life, I I usedto oversee global education for
Frank and Cubby.
So I had about a 10-year periodof my career where I just
traveled the world.
I'd walk through privateschools, public schools, um, in
about 23 countries.
I'd meet with faculty, staff,you know, administrators,
(06:22):
owners.
And they're all grappling withthe same things we are.
What's really interesting is umjust macroeconomically speaking,
we have a workforce, childrenthat are probably more
technologically inclined,certainly more technologically
inclined than any generationthat's ever walked the earth.
SPEAKER_05 (06:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:41):
With technology available at their fingertips
that is revolutionizing the waythat industries work and the way
that we live as human beings.
However, we also have aworkforce that struggles with
interpersonal skills.
And I know that this is a, youknow, this is a segment about
technology and national securityand fortifying the future for
(07:02):
the United States.
And I love all of that.
But AI will never replace ahuman's ability to lead people,
to communicate effectively, toset goals, to manage an
organization.
Um there, I mean, the data, thestatistics are overwhelming.
Thousands of employers arestruggling to hire talent that
(07:22):
can lead teams.
And so, as focused as we need tobe on technology, as much as
that will help us, protect us,we still need to produce great
human beings that can leadpeople.
Period.
And so I love the dual approachthat Canyon School District is
taking to developingwell-rounded leaders who can
(07:44):
work within technology.
So, with that as maybe a prefacefor the question itself, we're
living in a day and age where alot of the workforce is being
replaced and modernized byartificial intelligence and by
automated controls and systems.
Um, if you think back, and I'dnot to be long-winded, but when
(08:05):
we came out of World War II, weemerged as a global super
economy, right?
We could bend still andmanufacture aircraft and heavy
artillery and infrastructurefaster and better and with
higher quality than any nationaround the world.
It was a differentiating factor.
It created a lot of wealth herein the United States.
(08:26):
As we became more adept in thoseareas, we started to outsource
things that we thought were lessimportant: commodities,
manufacturing.
Um, and we kind of went into alittle bit of a lull from about
1960 to I would say 2000, wherewe outsourced um all of these
capabilities that we deemed lessimportant.
(08:49):
And we focused on enterprisesoftware, we focused on software
as a service, all of which arevery important.
But now that we have other umcountries that don't have our
best interests in mind aroundthe world, we're starting to
realize that we have kind ofleft the the wide the door wide
open and given them the keys toour house.
(09:09):
So now we're trying to reshoreonshore, we're trying to develop
capabilities in-house.
That's a really painful processto go through.
And so you're seeing executiveorders come out from the White
House, you're seeing umcongressional mandates to
procure technology to help thewar fighter.
Um, you're starting to see a newemerging class of technology
called frontier technology.
(09:31):
It's the culmination ofhardware, right?
We've got to manufacturerobotics, we've still got to
bend steel, we've still got tomake things, but we've also got
to bring that together withsoftware to operate it as the
user interface.
And the third component in allof this with the emergence of
technology is firmware.
We've got to protect thesoftware systems.
(09:51):
We've got to make sure that noone can get into those.
So if I'm a student right nowwatching this, I'm going to be
thinking, well, what area do Iwant to be in?
Do I want to be on the hardwareproduction side, which is a
really cool side?
And that will continue torevolutionize and be automated
and change.
Do I want to be on the firmwareside where it's cybersecurity,
(10:11):
uh, protecting our data?
Or do I want to be on thesoftware development side?
And right now the softwaredevelopment side is really tough
because it's being completelydisrupted by um artificial
intelligence.
Um, amazingly, I can go and haveChatGPT write an entire movie
for me.
I can ask it to write a code andgive it the parameters, and it
(10:34):
will do it just like that.
So if you're interested incoding your software
development, you have to beaware of that, knowing that um
systems are replacing personnel.
So it's a really interestingmoment.
It's exciting.
There's going to be a lot ofopportunities.
Uh, I think uh they say about60% of third graders now in
public schools around the uh theUnited States are going to apply
(10:55):
for a job in the next 15 yearsthat's not even created yet.
SPEAKER_05 (10:58):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:59):
And so, you know, it's kind of buckle up, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
So I mean, and that's both like I'm a parent,
right?
I come at this from a parent'sperspective, like frightening a
little bit, but also exciting,as you mentioned.
And Reed, I'm just wondering,too, just you know, playing off
what Aaron shared, theinnovation center, right?
As it sits sort of in thisrepurposed global tech head
headquarters, right?
We're reshaping, right?
(11:23):
A former tech giant.
And and what what about thatlocation or what about this
center, even not just from afacility standpoint, but from
how we're gonna build it out andand shape it, um, is gonna
prepare students for you knowthe workplaces that they're
gonna lead, workplaces thatdon't even exist yet.
SPEAKER_03 (11:42):
Well, well, thank you, Kirsten.
And and it's such a pleasure tobe here with uh Rick and Aaron.
Uh the superintendent has had uhuh uh really a corner on the
market of visionary educationfor the past 20 years, and the
district is fortunate to havehim leading it.
And Aaron is uh, you know, uhjust such a uh uh bright, uh
(12:06):
pertinent and timely mind tohave uh leading the aerospace
and and defense sector, uhbringing them together, and just
has such an abundance mentalitythat is really conducive to what
we're trying to do at theInnovation Center and for our
kids.
Um to your question, you know,the location of it is is crucial
(12:31):
in terms of it's really at apivotal point uh physically uh
in the state and in kind of thethe industrial learning uh uh
futuristic setting for ourstate.
Uh there's such great industrythat surrounds uh the center.
There's great learning.
You look where it's positionedbetween Salt Lake Community,
(12:55):
University of Utah, UVU, uh BYU,uh you know, you know, and uh
certainly can access WeaverState, Utah State.
We we currently access all ofthose, all of those higher
learning institutions will movewith us to the center and have a
great influence there.
To what uh uh Aaron's talkingabout, you know, we want to give
(13:18):
our students a profession-basedlearning experience.
Um you've seen uh many of thelarger companies, uh the
national companies, have reallymoved from a knowledge-based
hiring platform to askills-based hiring platform.
And uh what we want to do at thecenter is right in line with
(13:40):
what Aaron and thesuperintendent have both touched
on, and that is we've got tocreate an environment that gives
our students the ability to uhuse their intuitive nature in
terms of being technologicallyadvanced, and and couple with
that an opportunity to developthe durable skills and the
(14:04):
durable dispositions thatAaron's talking about, uh
leadership, creativity, problemsolving, working as a team, and
and so that's been our main uhuh focus and and is is really
the kind of the center point ofwhat we're trying to uh develop
at the center, and that's goingto be something that doesn't
(14:26):
look like school has looked likein the past.
You know, I I I like to uh uhkind of this the statement of
you know, we spend the firstfive years encouraging kids to
talk and move around, and thenthe next 12 to shut up and sit
down.
We've got to uh uh reallycapitalize on that intuitive
(14:48):
nature and develop that with theskills that industry needs to
support it, uh to support thattechnological learning that we
can give them opportunitythrough a profession-based model
and with partnership uh withcompanies like 40 or with groups
like 47G.
They bring so many uh greatcompanies together.
(15:10):
And so it's just just aphenomenal opportunity for us
and really a chance to put uhCanyon's District and and the
Innovation Center at the centerof what uh forward-thinking
education looks like.
unknown (15:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (15:26):
Yeah, I just to add on to that, uh Reed, I I've
heard you say often, you know,describing what that might look
like at the center as collisionpoints when you have students
and educators and industryleaders, you know, all bumping
into each other and workingtogether uh in in these points
(15:47):
of interaction throughout theday.
And I just can only imagine howdifferent that might be for some
of our students and how excitingthat is, that they really, they
really get to feel that sense ofprofessional accountability and
they're mentored, kind of goingback to Aaron's point that that
you know, those are theinteractions that we remember
(16:08):
that really define us and kindof you know refine us.
And so I I think um it'sexciting to see that unfold and
maybe in a different way thanwhat we've ever seen before.
unknown (16:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
And and what I hear you saying too, Reed, is
profession-based learning,right?
These students are gonna beworking on actual projects.
You know, a company's gonna comein and they're gonna have a, you
know, maybe a back burnerproject that they need some help
on.
They'll present it to thestudents.
The students are work on it.
And through that experience,they're gonna learn more about,
you know, they're gonna learnabout writing and communication,
but they're also gonna belearning critical thinking,
collaboration, working withteammates, you know, like
(16:41):
compensating for each other'sfailings and weaknesses and um
learning to lead out onsomething.
So yeah, those are vital skillsthat, like to both of your
points, AI can't replace.
Right, right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:52):
Well, well, and it's really twofold, Kirsten.
If I can add to that, in that,you know, we're we're going to
develop uh a partnership that's,you know, uh, like I said, Aaron
has been just a phenomenal voicealready for an abundance mindset
and someone that's willing toactually invest in in what
(17:14):
they're talking about and investin our kids.
Uh they didn't have to host uh,you know, 150 of our kids at
their uh premier uh conference.
That conference was intended forbusiness leaders, for uh uh
players in the aerospace anddefense industries, and they
hosted us and created a whole uhuh track for our students, which
(17:38):
was outstanding.
But besides that, we uh are aretaking uh some of our programs
and uh uh infusing them withtechnology, with uh
industry-based uh equipment andtools so that we can generate
our own industry-basedexperience for students right
(18:00):
there at the center.
For instance, with our mediaarts and our media creation
programs, our CSD TV is going toplay such a pivotal role there,
and we anticipate uh being ableto service multiple industries
uh while we develop our studentsin video and arts productions,
(18:24):
media uh uh uh production andand use of media to accelerate
business.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
Yeah, I um I'm curious, actually, in hearing
you all three talk because it,you know, like you said,
industry partners don't have tonecessarily partner with
education, right?
It's a sort of like an extrathing to be asking them to do.
Um when you first toured theInnovation Center, what
potential did you see, or youknow, what what got you
interested in what's reshapingeducation?
SPEAKER_02 (18:54):
Can I push back on something you just said?
Sure.
I may have a a bit of a nuancedview on this.
You just said, you know,industry partners don't have to
go and do that.
I actually think they do.
Um workforce development hasbecome way overly complex in my
mind.
And I don't think it's the roleof the government to create
(19:17):
programs to help with workforce.
I think it's industry's role.
When I sit down with an industryleader, a CEO, and they say,
Well, we just we just simplydon't have enough students,
entry-level workers, compositeengineers, whatever it is.
My question to them is always,Well, how many students have you
taken out to lunch this pastquarter?
They kind of look at me and theygo, Well, look, I went to Duke
(19:38):
University.
I was really, really lucky theylet a boy from northern Utah
into Duke.
I always knew when McKinsey,Bain, BCG, or Fortune 500
company was on campus becausethey emailed me and they wanted
to go out to lunch with me.
Wow.
Now the beauty in that processis that I sat down, learned from
them about their company.
They looked me in the eye.
(19:59):
I I felt like they had aninterest in me.
And when I left that lunch, Iwas connected on LinkedIn to an
executive.
Now, the probability of me goingto work for a company who's done
that for me astronomicallyhigher.
Yeah.
And so we're kind of in thisstate where companies are
saying, Well, they're just notproducing enough.
Well, go out and compete.
(20:19):
Yeah.
Go, you know, go sit down withuh with with Reed or the
superintendent.
Tell them about your needs.
That's your job.
Hiring employees is your job,right?
So I think our role here at 47Gis really to bring industry in
closer proximity to educatorsand students.
Hence the reason that we webring students to our um to our
(20:41):
conference, right?
It's the future of the state,it's the future of the
workforce.
And so um, look, if you want togrow any industry, the input is
is always uh human capital.
So why not start earlier in thein the process?
And so 47G is really trying tomake this industry more
competitive by doing that,forging relationships with with
(21:01):
your group, superintendent.
And and by the way, kudos to youfor being an early mover, having
big vision, and for creatingsomething unique and different.
And our goal is to help youstaff it with CEOs and
executives from companies whocan come spend time with
students because students needto hear from their mouth.
SPEAKER_04 (21:21):
Yeah, I I couldn't agree more.
I I really appreciate the thekind words.
I just going back to theconference, you know, our our
students are they're so hungryfor that experience and and
they're they're seekingrelevance and rigor and and a
place, right?
And it doesn't take away fromtheir experience every day at
their at their high schools, butbut they really they want to see
(21:44):
the future and want to see wheredo they fit in it, right?
And how are they going tocontribute?
And I and I just, you know, thatday uh listening to our students
and and just seeing how engagedand excited they were to be
around all these executives.
Yeah, I mean, that's that's likean experience, as you said,
they'll never forget.
And and it will serve them, ourstate, our country so much
(22:06):
better and serve us well.
So, so thank you for thatopportunity.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
Well, and I'll and I'll just say this too you have
an innovation center beingbuilt.
You're gonna have greattechnology, there's gonna be
great curriculum offered,there's gonna be projects to
enhance learning, all of that'simportant.
But you know as well as I dothat teenagers hardly listen to
their parents, and sometimeslistening to teachers is even
harder.
Okay.
And so I think as we all hearkenback to our own experience as
(22:32):
students, if a teacher wastelling us to do it, we felt
like it might not be necessary.
It's just to pass the class orto get a grade, right?
I just need to get this done.
But if an industry leader or acompany prominent in the valley
came and said, Hey, you over thenext six weeks, you're gonna be
participating in a project toenhance skills.
(22:52):
And by the way, these are theskills I need to hire.
They listen, they listen a bitdifferently.
Yeah, right.
Because they they recognize thatit's relevant, relevant
education.
By the way, not a lot ofeducation is relevant.
Yeah.
And that's what you startedwith, superintendent.
It's we want to createwell-rounded individuals, but I
don't know that we're doing thatreal well in the modern society
(23:13):
that we live in.
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
I'm curious what you hear from your industry partners
on that front.
Like as they've engaged withstudents at, you know, in venues
like this conference, do theyfind it to be equally gratifying
experiences like the studentsand the teachers?
I mean, do you find that it'svaluable for them, value added?
SPEAKER_02 (23:30):
I think they love it.
Um, I think all of them weredepleted of candy and swag after
the students came through.
So that was a hard thing.
So they were like, next yearwe're gonna, we're gonna triple
our amount.
Um, but they all they all seethe wisdom in it, right?
And industry's learning too howto do things differently.
And I I mean, we're just look,Utah, number one economy in the
(23:52):
nation, um, most diverseeconomy.
We have every industry in theworld right in our backyard.
There's so many things goingwell for us.
But I feel like um I feel likewe have over rotated a little
bit on workforce development.
Industry's got to step up,period.
SPEAKER_04 (24:09):
So well, uh one thing I noticed at the
conference was at the very endwe did a group photo, and more
and more executives kept comingup.
Hey, can I get a phone can I getin this photo?
They all wanted a picture fortheir social media, you know.
So I think the kids, all thestudents were kind of eating
that up.
It was uh it was fun.
SPEAKER_02 (24:28):
Well, thanks for sharing that.
SPEAKER_04 (24:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:29):
Talking about how maybe we've gone, we've we've
pivoted too far in a directionwhen it comes to workforce
preparedness as a country.
And you're also talking about,you know, preparing students for
the careers we don't know aboutyet.
So looking at the InnovationCenter and kind of um the kinds
of programs that we could havethere or the kinds of industries
that we should be partneringwith, what should rise to the
top of our priority list, wouldyou say?
SPEAKER_02 (24:52):
Um, a couple of ideas, priorities in no
particular order.
One, I think we need to have aspeaker series.
I think that um once a month weshould have an industry
executive come in and talk aboutwhat their company does, show
them the pitch video, um, tellthem about some of the exciting
initiatives coming down, youknow, the pipeline.
Um, students don't know whatthey don't know.
(25:15):
That's easy.
By the way, that auditorium youguys have, awesome.
Awesome.
Right?
It's a big stage, it's aninspiring atmosphere.
Let them be inspired by industryexecutives who are solving
really cool problems every day.
So I would say having a speakerseries is going to be great.
Um, two, I I think that inbetween school years, I think
(25:38):
that uh we need to bringcompanies like Boeing in and
others where these students cango and intern, even if even if
it's for a week.
Let them go get experience in aclassroom or or outside the
classroom rather, in a companyfor a week.
Um give them some confidence.
One of the biggest challengesthat we're facing in in
(25:58):
education right now isself-efficacy, the belief that
we can do hard things.
Students are not, students arenot having to accomplish hard
things at young ages.
Social media and the and themental health crisis associated
with that represent the hardestthings.
But let them go out, experiencea project, go and get
uncomfortable meeting people,and then socializing in a
(26:21):
workplace all before theygraduate high school.
Confidence is through the roofat that point, right?
It's just a continuation of anexperience they've already had.
So um, yeah, I would sayspeaking, um, speaking
engagements, um, and thencompany tours and uh, you know,
externships or internships,however we want to position
those.
But, you know, we want to behelpful with all of that.
(26:42):
Um, Reed and I had lunchrecently, and I told them, hey,
like let us be a partnerbringing these opportunities to
you.
We're at our best when we'reable to do that.
And uh, and so, you know,superintendent, under your
leadership, I think, you know,great opportunities are ahead of
us.
Yeah, that that's superexciting.
SPEAKER_04 (26:58):
I I I think, you know, just the, as you
mentioned, thinking aboutself-efficacy and and capacity,
right, to just building thosenetworks and those connections.
And and I think back to my owncareer and and how often, you
know, if if you just take alittle bit of opportunity to put
yourself out there, the benefitsare endless.
(27:20):
You you you you meet people andyou build those relationships
and and and it's lasting, right?
To this day through my career.
I still have those connectionsand those contacts.
So it is so important for ouryoung people to to really
develop those skills.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (27:36):
I'm curious actually, for this is a question
for all three of you, but um,you know, what does it mean to
to cultivate that level oftalent starting in high school?
I mean, what would you say topeople who say, uh, they're too
young, they're not readydevelopmentally for certain
things?
What would you say to that?
SPEAKER_03 (27:53):
Well, I'll start, Kirsten.
Uh I've never seen that be thecase.
Uh it went you know, and and yougo back to exactly what Aaron
just said, uh uh give kids, putmake kids in maybe maybe an
uncomfortable spot and and teachthem how to rise to the
occasion.
I've I've just never seen astudent shrink from that
(28:16):
opportunity when you surroundthem with uh the ability, the
support, and and great tools.
SPEAKER_01 (28:26):
Yeah, I have to agree.
SPEAKER_02 (28:27):
Um can I can I just say m maybe I'm having a little
bit of uh an epiphany here?
But I I think we're out of placeas a society where we have more
confidence in technology than wedo people, and that's a really
sad thing.
Yeah.
And I I mean, you don't have tolook back very far, um, a
(28:48):
hundred years maybe, where wherekids were not going to school at
all, they were providing fortheir families.
Like they haven't lost thatability, they haven't lost the
potential, they've lost thatopportunity, right?
But still people can do hardthings.
That's the self-efficacy.
Like let them swim, right?
(29:09):
They, you know, if they strugglefor a few minutes, they'll
figure it out.
They have to.
And so, but we've become socomfortable taking opportunities
and responsibilities and and uhyou know other things away from
them and replacing them withtechnology that now they're
they're not they're forgettinghow to network, right?
The innate ability tocommunicate with someone else.
(29:32):
I just think we have to get backto the fundamentals and not be
afraid of them.
So was that harsh?
Is that a harsh thing to say?
SPEAKER_04 (29:40):
I I I think the points are well taken.
And um, I'd take it even a stepfurther.
I mean, we we've basically in alot of ways remove failure.
Uh, you know, and uh you thinkback for all of us that are uh
older, failure w was a big partof growing up, you know, and and
there there wasn't a reliance ontechnology.
(30:00):
There was a reliance on eachother.
And when you did fail, you know,really picking yourself back up
and and being resilient.
And and I think that this hasadded to that, you know, to that
dilemma that we're in.
So I I think there's just somany opportunities to help kind
of rebuild and reimagine whatthat looks like.
Yeah.
So yeah, well said.
SPEAKER_01 (30:23):
Um kind of going back to what we started with a
little bit in terms of the thethe workplace and those needs
there.
Are there certain industriesthat um you know you're pushing
for, promoting for Utah toembrace?
I mean, we already have a lot ofstrength in aerospace and
defense, right?
SPEAKER_02 (30:38):
I mean, is that yeah, it's it's amazing.
Um aerospace, defense space,those three technology
categories represent 20% of thestate's GDP on an ideal basis.
And what's really amazing aboutthat is that these are higher
paying, more sustainable wages.
(30:59):
And so um look, if you want ajob, go to another industry.
If you want a career, come toours.
That's kind of the way I frameit.
Um you will work on the mostinspiring technology that
mankind has ever known.
I don't think mankind hascreated anything more inspiring
than an airplane, a rocket.
(31:20):
It it literally transcends ourlevel of thinking.
Um, we had an electric air taxicome to the state about a year
ago.
We flew it to six differentlocations.
Ahead of the 2034 Olympics,we're working on Project Alta,
which is a statewide initiativeto create a hybrid electric
transportation system forOlympic athletes, public, and to
(31:43):
deliver parcels, packages inpartnership with UPS and other
carriers.
So we're having a moment, thingsare really accelerating.
We put that aircraft in front ofuh, you know, six different
audiences across the state.
And like they like you wouldstare at a campfire, they just
they just sit and they stare atthis airplane.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Well, it seems unbelievable, right?
SPEAKER_02 (32:04):
It does, yeah.
It it does, and yet it's it'shappening, and it it's going to
continue happening.
And um, so we need students whoare just inspired by the
industry.
And look, you'll get paid well.
Um, here's what's amazing uh500,000 jobs are tied to this
industry for every job createdin aerospace and defense in the
(32:27):
state, it creates another 1.8 inthe economy.
SPEAKER_05 (32:30):
Wow.
That's that's amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (32:32):
It is.
It's it's really, reallyawesome.
And so um and the breadth anddepth uh of of the industry
itself is interesting.
I used a term earlier calleddual use technology.
That's become a thing in thepast six, eight years.
But essentially, these arecommercial companies that are
developing products or servicesthat can also be used for
(32:53):
defense purposes, hence the dualnature.
SPEAKER_05 (32:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:57):
And dual use technology is is rapidly
emerging in Utah.
Um, radars, sensors, satellites,drones, these are all dual-use
technologies, aircraft.
So um, you know, the invitationis as strong as it's ever been.
Uh, with over 600 companiescompeting in this space, Delta's
fastest growing hub anywhere inthe US, right here in Utah, et
(33:20):
cetera, et cetera, like this isthe place you want to be.
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (33:25):
Well, and that just like reminds me of that what the
center really all is all aboutis right reminding students of
what it's possible, right?
Speaking of the aerospace anddefense fields, uh the way I
hear you talking about it isit's much as uh of an economic
imperative imperative as it is asafety or or right imperative.
Like stick to that a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (33:44):
Yeah, it um, you know, we have our national
security apparatus as a country,and that's largely dependent on
a few things.
One, our ability to makenecessary technologies,
manufacture the products thatour war fighters need, right?
Um, but the face of nationalsecurity is changing quite a
bit.
President Trump announcedsomething.
(34:05):
I think it's the the um thelargest defense initiative we've
ever had in the United States.
It's called Golden Dome.
Do you guys remember this atall?
Essentially, in Israel, theyhave the Iron Dome.
Golden Dome will be a virtualapparatus that will be able to
detect and protect airspaceabove the contiguous United
(34:26):
States.
So nothing could ever penetrateour airspace.
Think about how massive that is,right?
The land mass in the UnitedStates is huge.
Protecting that by a virtualintegrated radar system that can
conduct intelligence,surveillance reconnaissance, be
able to detect things coming infrom outer space, it it it it
(34:47):
represents a huge economicopportunity.
Now, to make that happen, you'vegot companies at all levels that
are gonna have to participate inmanufacturing hardware, uh in
the satellite industry, etc.
Um, all of that's happening, sowhich is why over a trillion
dollars of uh venture capitalwill be put into this space over
(35:08):
the next 10 years.
Not a B, a T.
Trillion.
SPEAKER_05 (35:12):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:12):
A trillion dollars.
It's it's changing.
Everything is changing.
So we uh we just have this greatexcitement, and I hope you guys
feel it for me, that this is notgoing away for 10 years.
And so if you're a student, getin now.
Go build with a company that'sgonna do great things, right?
You'll protect yourselfeconomically um by doing that,
(35:35):
but also you'll be able toparticipate in solving some of
mankind's greatest challenges,you know.
So, and I could go on and on andall.
I'll I'll stop myself.
I think it's great.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (35:45):
It's inspirational.
And and um, and at the sametime, we're sort of working on
preparing students for the needsof today, right?
We've got huge needs in thehealthcare industry.
Yeah, we have huge needs inconstruction, um, manufacturing.
I mean, I think I saw thisarticle in the Wall Street
Journal that said somethinglike, Here's here's what we're
calling construction workersnow, the new millionaires.
Like there's venture capitalmoney going into those
(36:05):
companies.
And so talk a little bit aboutsome of those programs too,
Reed.
I know that we're working on umwe've got a whole uh building
that we're we're right, thatwe're creating out there at the
Innovation Center that willhouse some of those programs.
SPEAKER_03 (36:19):
Right.
Our our professional trades, ourour welding, our uh home
manufacturing, homeconstruction, our uh
cosmetology, and our heavydiesel mechanics, all of those
are crucial to you know, all ofour cybersecur, just like our
(36:39):
cybersecurity, our health care,uh all of our other industries
we're preparing for.
You know, and and I think it'sit's it's crucial that one of
the things that that isimportant with everything about
the conversations we're havingtoday is you know, we can't
compartmentalize uh either thedurable skills and and
(37:03):
developing people.
Uh we can't do that in acompartment.
We can't develop the industrycompartment in terms of
technology and technology use.
We've got to bring all of thattogether, and that's what we
intend to do at the center.
Uh we want to take uh uh andcontinue to have great a great
welding program, but we alsowant to develop an
(37:27):
entrepreneurial spirit in everyone of our welders so that they
can transition and be flexibleand moldable to any industry
that comes along in terms ofapplying their welding skill.
Same with heavy diesel, samewith cosmetology, this the same
with our cybersecurity uh uhstudents.
(37:48):
So, you know, and and we reallywant to one of the advantages of
having a center like this iswe're going to be able to take
an idea that's developed in thebusiness and entrepreneurial
group and go get uh uh aprototype made by by a welder
and take it over to ourmanufacturing shop and and add
(38:11):
some components there uh withanother team and then develop a
business plan and then uh putsome media to it and market it
uh uh from every aspect thatthat all products are marketed
today.
So, you know, uh the there it'sjust unlimited opportunity.
(38:32):
But uh to to the specificquestion, Kirsten, yes, our our
trades, you know, we've got uhgreat programs right now.
We're going to make them evenbetter uh and and have more
industry influence andparticipation with those.
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
And I know a lot of those programs have waiting
lists.
We're gonna better be able tomeet that demand.
Um and too, I'm thinking alittle bit about where this
innovation sits in the ecosystemof education, right?
You've got all of these schoolsthat are building foundational
knowledge, right?
Math, writing, reading, um,science.
And then from there, you've gotthe innovation center kind of
being like this sort of pinnacleexperience where a lot of like
(39:12):
the skills and knowledge thatstudents have built through the
years are going to like put thatinto practice and start doing it
a little earlier than maybe wehave asked them to do so in the
past.
And then another vision, if I'mI've heard you talk about this,
superintendent, um, is to havesome of the project-based
learning that is there kind offilter back down through the
system so that we're encouragingstudents at a really young age
(39:34):
to be creative and work with onhands-on projects and think of
some of these possibilities thatare in their future in 10, 8, 7
years.
SPEAKER_04 (39:43):
Yeah, yeah.
If you you know, if you reallystudy and research, excuse me,
research, you know, educationaluh models and instructional
design, you know, one of themost successful models is
backward mapping, right?
And and really looking at thefuture.
Future first, and then fromthere backward mapping all the
(40:03):
skills and everything that youneed to get to that point.
And so it's kind of that, youknow, having that end in mind as
you build it out.
The exciting thing for me isthat you know, not there's not
very many opportunities whereyou get to actually design that
anchor point or design thatlighthouse.
(40:24):
Most of the time in mostsystems, um, you know, that's
already in place.
And so it's very, very difficultto move that needle in in
education that, as we mentioned,has been, you know, so slow to
move.
But in this situation, we havethe opportunity to do just that.
And so, you know, I I think ourvision for it is as this
(40:44):
unrolls, many of thedispositions, the practices, the
norms of what happens in theinnovation center will, you
know, backward map and unfold inour high schools and in our
middle schools and all the waydown to our elementaries, uh,
you know, where we see theseopportunities for kids to start
as early as kindergarten.
SPEAKER_01 (41:05):
Yeah.
So And we heard that from someof our industry advisory
partners, right, Reed?
That they were they wereencouraging us to get kids even
at the youngest of ages to sortof start.
SPEAKER_03 (41:16):
Well, yeah.
And and one of the things uhthat you know is unique about
the center is we're going tohave a partnership with the STEM
Action Center uh on the campus.
So that's going to be a realnice opportunity for us.
You know, you think of a 47G'spresence being able to uh start
(41:36):
uh uh at such a young age ofhaving that association and an
opportunity to be exposed to uhindustry at that kind of level
uh through through work with theSTEM Action Center.
SPEAKER_05 (41:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (41:51):
Okay, well we're gonna, I know we've been here
for a while.
I really appreciate you all umtaking some time today.
I want to just maybe um concludewith a couple of questions.
And one is, you know, what kindof impact could this kind of
education have nationwide if weget it right?
Do we think?
Feel free to anyone can chimein.
SPEAKER_04 (42:10):
I mean, for me, it's a game changer.
I I I think it really it setsthe stage um to reimagine, you
know, what education, especiallypublic education, can be.
And I I see it as as reallylifting and floating all boats,
right?
I I think we've already heardfrom lots of other districts
(42:30):
around the country that havewanted to come and visit uh to
really get their minds aroundthis idea that, hey, this is
something different.
This isn't we're just in thatspace of time where we have this
amazing opportunity to toreshape what education looks,
you know, looks like and what itdoes for our students and what
opportunities that it canprovide.
(42:52):
So I I think um you know it'llserve as a lighthouse to the
rest of the country.
And and there are models outthere.
We visited, you know, differentinnovation centers from all the
way from the East Coast to toTexas to uh you know the West
Coast.
So so I that there is momentum,right?
There are people out there thatget this vision that want to be
(43:13):
part and want to be part ofsomething special.
SPEAKER_01 (43:15):
Yeah.
It's exciting.
SPEAKER_02 (43:18):
I think it has the the potential to become
something revolutionary for theUS.
I I would add one suggestion tothe model, though.
Um we're gonna teach studentshow to build things, we're gonna
give them access to industry,we're gonna give them greater
exposure.
(43:39):
Um but I think the outcome orone way we're gonna measure
success is how many studentstake ideas that they've learned
or skills that they've learnedand go and create their own
companies.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Um and that's a that's a longerterm metric to measure success.
So this is just a suggestion,superintendent, but as they
(44:03):
graduate and as they leave theirexperience, connecting them with
people who can write checks, whocan vet ideas, and teaching them
how to create a pitch deck sothey can propose to investors, I
think is going to be a reallynecessary element in all of
this, because then they're morewell-rounded and equipped.
And so if we can bring all ofthose components together, it
(44:26):
will truly be something special.
SPEAKER_04 (44:27):
Yeah, 100% agree.
And um, we will definitely dothat.
I I think to add to that as wellis you know, really
strengthening our alumni baseand inviting them back.
You know, I I I don't think uhoften enough do we have our
alumni that go out and do thatactually come back and talk to
(44:48):
their, you know, their theirpeers, the students that are in
the school now.
So so I think the InnovationCenter, along with our high
schools, really affords thatopportunity to to build that
alumni base as they go out andthey and and we we track that as
they create their own companiesand and they do um whatever it
(45:08):
is they're gonna do, is that wegive them the opportunity to
come back off and then to toshare, you know, and uh really
share that impart that knowledgewith the students that are here
are here in the in theinnovation center now.
SPEAKER_01 (45:22):
So you know what I'm hearing, Reed?
I'm hearing that we need tostart a fundraising arm and a
venture capital fund.
SPEAKER_03 (45:29):
Well, yeah, well, we'll we'll get to work on that.
I I couldn't agree more.
And uh, you know, I just justthe simple tracking and and
keeping uh those uh connectionsis it will be a real uh key
factor as well.
SPEAKER_01 (45:49):
Well, for for all of you, maybe some closing
thoughts.
Um, what message would you sharewith students today who are
listening about whether theybelong in a place like the
Innovation Center?
Um, you know, kind of what wouldyou want a student to know about
their purpose?
SPEAKER_04 (46:04):
Well, uh I'll lead off with this.
Every time I'm out at theInnovation Center, just as I
walk into the building, um, youknow, just a strong sense of
pride and and and really uhhumility all at the same time.
This was not my high schoolexperience, you know, and and to
just see the depth and thebreadth of what that campus
(46:25):
looks like and the deepcommitment by our board and our
industry partners and you know,everybody in our state that has
really come forward to to justoffer their energy and their
time and their resources.
I hope, I hope our students arepaying attention to that because
this this is this is for them.
(46:45):
Um you know, our future, ourdemocracy is in the balance.
And and so I I think for ourschool community and all of our
partners to go all in uh on thisventure, I hope says a lot to
our young people that wow, thisis for me, right?
Because it this isn'teverywhere.
SPEAKER_05 (47:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (47:05):
And so I I think as they see that and they see this
commitment level, um, I thinkthat says a lot.
And and to me, for our youngpeople that are listening, or
you know, come out andexperience it.
You know, if you get a chance,come out and take a tour, get
excited about what's there andwhat your future, you know,
might might look like.
SPEAKER_01 (47:24):
Yeah.
I mean, you walk in there,right?
And you what you see is like,wow, what what's happening here
feels really important, right?
Which means like what I'm gonnabe doing here is important,
right?
Which I'm what I'm doing ismatters.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (47:36):
Um Stephen Covey uh taught us the seven habits,
right?
He took he took true principlesand put them into a process
that's easier for us tounderstand.
Um and so I guess my my advicefor any student who watches this
is um to write a missionstatement, to go in there
(47:58):
beginning with the end in mind,um, which is habit number two,
right?
Have a map for what you want tocreate.
Everything we we do in life hastwo creations, the mental
creation and the physicalcreation.
And so have a really strong why.
Because if you have a why, thenyou can figure out the how.
But if you don't have the why,when things get get hard, you
(48:21):
typically don't see thingsthrough.
So as you begin yourentrepreneurial journey, have a
really strong why, and that willhelp you understand who you are.
I think that's a really, reallycore principle for all of us.
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (48:33):
Reed, you have any final thoughts for us?
SPEAKER_03 (48:36):
I I don't have anything to add to either of
those two, other than just uh,you know, these are two of the
greatest uh leaders we could uhhave, uh leading uh uh Aaron and
the uh our state in such a greateconomic sector, uh and and all
the things he's doing to provideleadership for the state and
(48:59):
really leading out there, andthen the superintendent.
We're going to create anopportunity for students and and
we hope they'll come and andreally uh uh launch their
future.
SPEAKER_01 (49:12):
Well, I'm excited to see it take take shape, and I'm
excited to be working on it withyou both and continuing the
conversation.
Hopefully, we can get togetheragain and check in on progress.
SPEAKER_02 (49:22):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (49:24):
Thank you for being there.
SPEAKER_02 (49:25):
Thanks, Burst.
SPEAKER_00 (49:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,Facebook, or Instagram at
Canyons District, or on ourwebsite, CanyonsDistrict.org.
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