St. Louis, MO. – Unleashing Potential, a community leader in providing educational and empowering experiences for youth, together with T-REX, a nonprofit innovation, entrepreneur, and workforce development organization, are collaborating to introduce youth in K-8 grades to geospatial science and technology. Unleashing Potential’s new GeoQuest program expands access to education, hands-on learning, and skill training in geospatial technology. As one of the fastest-growing fields in information technology, geospatial science jobs are in high demand.
With Unleashing Potential, children can begin their GeoQuest as early as kindergarten. Learners in grades K-5 explore the geospatial world as Geo Adventurers, learning about the earth’s terrain, space, and waterways. GPS: Geo Power Squad learners in grades 6-8 move beyond basic exploration and discover how to harness geospatial technology for good.
Geospatial education complements STEM learning and uses geospatial technology, like global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS), to problem solve. Unleashing Potential’s GeoQuest program engages learners in geospatial education, allowing them to see how location impacts daily life and the world around them. Location data can help solve some of the most pressing issues facing local and global communities—inspiring our next generation of innovators to map a better future and create a safer, more productive world.
Why Geospatial Technology Upskilling is Needed
In the next decade, one billion jobs—nearly 1 in 3 jobs worldwide—are expected to be transformed by technology [1]. Almost 63% of St. Louis employers stated they were experiencing a shortage of skilled applicants and cited the lack of skills and expertise as the No. 1 challenge [2].
“Access to specialized skills training is essential to growing a technically skilled workforce in our community,” said
Darlene Sowell, President and CEO of Unleashing Potential. “Our mission is to close the opportunity gap by educating our youth in critical skills, introducing them to emerging career opportunities, and enhancing our scholars’ potential for success today and tomorrow. The future depends on our youth being ready to address pressing issues locally and globally.”
Through a curriculum developed and taught by Unleashing Potential technologists, children in K-8 grade will tackle real-world projects and hone critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills in an encouraging and nurturing environment. Programs take place at locations in St. Louis City and County and provide educational support to prepare learners to succeed in high school and beyond. This summer, Unleashing Potential will host enrichment programs and camps to expand geospatial skill development.
“Data influences and surrounds us,” said Gloria Hampton, Unleashing Potential’s Chief Program Officer. “To complement classroom learning, our program scholars collect, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using geospatial technologies. A problem to solve becomes a project that turns our children into collaborators engaged in service learning and solution design.”
About T-REX
T-REX is a nonprofit innovation, entrepreneur and workforce development organization that provides quality programming, collaborative community, and flexible collaboration and enterprise space in its historic downtown building in St. Louis, part of the Downtown North Urban Insight District. T-REX boasts a one-of-a-kind 16,000 square foot Geospatial Innovation Center and is also home to NGA’s Moonshot Labs, as well as nearly 200 companies and innovation support organizations. T-REX is a proud partner of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency under a Partnership Intermediary Agreement that serves NGA mission objectives focused on technology transfer, innovation, and workforce development.
About Unleashing Potential
The mission of Unleashing Potential (UP) is to close the opportunity gap for children and youth by building on their strengths. We create educational and empowering experiences through early childhood education, afterschool programs, youth development, and summer enrichment camps. The high-quality programs are provided year-round and are designed to yield positive academic and social-emotional outcomes for children ages six weeks through middle school, regardless of their ZIP code in the St. Louis region.
[1] World Economic Forum, January 22, 2020
[2] St. Louis Workforce Report, August 2022
