Damian, one of my eighth-graders, left me a note on our digital bulletin board: “Science is my favorite class every year!” His classmate Amelia replied with “Me 2!!!” Damian is sure he’s headed for a career in computer science; Amelia dreams of being a doctor. These two eighth-graders and their peers deserve a place to chase their dreams in the ranks of American scientists, and they need role models and real-world opportunities to inspire and guide them to become biochemists, engineers and mathematicians.
One way to nurture my students’ interest in science is by connecting them with scientists, researchers and leaders focused on innovation. Over my years in the classroom, many have been inspired by these connections. Dara came into my biochemistry club with raw curiosity. Through a partnership with a local university, she got the opportunity to work in a graduate-level lab doing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), running gels, amplifying proteins, and owning the collection and interpretation of data. I noticed Cesar’s penchant for math and science on day one and was able to get him a summer internship at a power systems engineering lab, where he worked with scientists to build his understanding of generation, storage and transmission. Stephen’s survey of yellow-billed cuckoos in Arizona turned him into a scientist, conservationist and poet; he wrote to me about the “crafty gnomes” that were sometimes hard to spot but brought him joy in Colorado’s rich riparian areas.
When my students work on actual, ongoing industry projects alongside practicing scientists, something powerful happens. Their confidence in their own abilities shoots up, and they become genuinely excited about pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). At the same time, they are learning to collaborate effectively and communicate their ideas clearly — skills that will serve them well no matter what path they choose in our rapidly evolving economy.
Today, we risk having far fewer of these industry role models in our country. In March, the journal Nature reported that scientists are considering leaving the U.S. en masse. Universities abroad are preparing to attract and welcome them with open arms. The American Medical Association published a survey this summer that forecasts we stand to lose a third of general surgeons, cardiologists and psychiatrists. Just as my students are reaching for their futures in science, the professionals who could guide them are considering walking away. But those scientists might not realize that students like Damian and Amelia are exactly who they need to connect with right now.
The enjoyment of science is on the decline alongside student mastery of content. But if scientists connect sooner and for longer with students in our communities, we have a real chance to reverse these trends. When students work alongside professionals, they don’t just learn content — they start to see themselves as future scientists. My students are ready and eager for these experiences right now, and the scientists who agree to work with and mentor them will find that guiding the next generation is a compelling reason to stay. They only need to come to my classroom and spend a day connecting with Damian and Amelia.
To make this happen at scale, we need more than a few mentors — we need meaningful partnerships and internships, and expanded, simpler access to dual and concurrent-enrollment courses. Here in Colorado, that would be an easy door to open by making more courses eligible for use of the College Opportunity Fund and requiring its acceptance at all public colleges and universities under the same guidelines to minimize the load on districts and school staff who connect students with these programs.
School districts and industry in Colorado should also collaborate more, and our policies should make these partnerships more feasible and attractive. Colorado’s Opportunity Now initiative, created to strengthen workforce pipelines through grants to universities, schools, employers and community organizations, should be expanded and funded beyond its current cycle. Colorado should encourage more businesses to invest in our students and our future with the same urgency we apply to attracting jobs today.
In 2018, a Colorado Succeeds study projected that meeting workforce demand for employees with bachelor’s degrees would require an additional 6,200 graduates per year, with the potential to add $12 billion in gross domestic product over a decade. Yet, even as Opportunity Now grows, its current scale is modest: it has awarded $89.5 million across 96 grants, and in its most recent round, placed about 1,175 people into good jobs. That leaves a lot of room for expansion and untapped economic gains.
While behavioral health and infrastructure sector impacts are notable, to fill our projected need for workers in health care, computing and math and to continue our path toward being a quantum computing hub, Colorado must quickly prioritize students’ exposure and access to experiences in these industries as well. It follows that the state should expand tax credits for businesses, as detailed in HB24-1365 or “Opportunity Now 2.0,” and offer these at a minimum 1:1 credit for certain sectors and particularly programs that lead to four-year degrees. Unfortunately, the tax credits for this program are currently authorized only to be approved “up to 50% of the estimated qualified asset” — an inadequate incentive for the injection of talent we need to encourage.
Colorado is off to a good start: Opportunity Now has provided a working template, and we have a state-level vision for industry partnerships which supports engaging our students in meaningful workplace experiences. We now need to expand and prioritize making our postsecondary workplace readiness vision a reality for all students.
There are millions of students looking for exposure and pathways into research, design, problem-solving, and innovation. Equally, businesses will be looking for roughly 4 million STEM workers in the next five years. If we prioritize STEM-school partnerships and encourage more scientists and innovators to visit our classrooms and construct more learning spaces of their own, we will reap the social and economic benefits now and for generations to come. Colorado will continue on a prosperous path. And in the process, we can make dreams come true for the Damians, Amelias, Daras, Cesars and Stephens who are eager to learn more and lead us into the coming decades.

Colin Haverkamp is an eighth-grade science teacher and teacher leader at DSST College View Middle School in Denver, and a 2025-2026 Teach Plus Colorado Charter Policy Fellow.