Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in the 2022 academic year, west…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in the 2022 academic year, west virginia saw troubling declines in public school students' science and math proficiency. These declines are exacerbated by structural issues like limited internet access, high child poverty rates, fewer stem learning opportunities, and high food insecurity, especially in rural areas. The departure of stem industries from the state further reduces opportunities for students to engage in meaningful stem experiences. Our project, seeing is believing: bridging equity gaps in stem, based on social cognitive career theory (scct), aims to tackle these challenges by enhancing personal, behavioral, and environmental motivators in stem. The goal is to inspire middle school students to develop a keen interest in agriculture-related careers. By combining theoretical and hands-on stem learning experiences, we want to empower students to feel confident in pursuing and excelling in stem fields, particularly in agriculture. We aim to address disparities in stem learning opportunities among rural youth to create a future workforce capable of addressing agricultural issues in west virginia. Our curriculum includes six components: 1) understanding food and agriculture systems, emphasizing local production, 2) using drones to survey farmland, 3) employing robotics to improve food production efficiency, 4) virtual simulations of livestock production, 5) visits to agricultural facilities and agri-technology companies, and 6) knowledge sharing through audiovisual presentations focused on innovative agricultural technologies. Our project addresses key educational needs: student experiential learning; student recruitment, retention, mentoring, and educational equity; and curriculum development. We are partnering with west virginia state university to implement the project in five rural counties – summers, wyoming, mcdowell, raleigh, and mercer – selected based on population density, minority representation, and child poverty rates. Over two years, we aim to directly benefit 250 rural youths in these counties.