Former UP student Vanessa at Vertex Pharmaceuticals during an Imagine Your Future workplace visit.

Vanessa remembers walking into corporate boardrooms for the first time.

For a student who entered UP Academy Dorchester as a kindergartner, those spaces once felt worlds away from her everyday life. Over the past two years, though, they became classrooms.

The middle schooler has conducted laboratory experiments related to blood disorders at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and presented ideas for Boston Bowl to appeal to tweens inside Bain Capital’s boardroom. With WHOOP, she designed a wearable fitness device using computer-aided design software before watching employees produce it with a 3D printer.

At Dell Technologies, she explored how artificial intelligence could address challenges in her community. At Toast, she helped create a food truck business concept. And during a visit to Boyle Shaughnessy Law, she participated in a mock trial.

Those experiences changed more than her resume, said Mike Bower, chief operating officer of UP Education Network, a group of charter schools operating in Dorchester. “They’re real projects aligned to what the company actually does. The whole purpose is helping our students explore their path and potential.”

Vanessa’s story represents the goal behind Imagine Your Future, UP Education Network’s career-connected learning initiative, which partners middle school students with Boston-area employers through immersive workplace visits and hands-on projects.

Rather than simply touring offices, students spend the day solving problems that mirror the work professionals perform.

The program has expanded rapidly since launching during the 2023-24 school year.

What began with roughly 30 students participating in two workplace visits now reaches about 300 students across UP Academy Dorchester and UP Academy Holland.

In June, Vanessa graduated from UP Academy Dorchester and will attend one of Boston Public Schools’ exam schools in the fall. Bower said she has become one of the program’s strongest examples of what exposure and opportunity can accomplish.

“She’ll walk up to anyone now and start a conversation,” he said. “She’s probably one of the most confident people I know under the age of 25.”

For UP, whose schools primarily serve students from Dorchester and Roxbury communities historically underserved by educational and economic opportunities, the partnerships are designed to expand what students believe is possible. According to the organization, 98% of its students are children of color, 57% are multilingual learners and nearly 80% live in Dorchester.

This year alone, students participated in 22 career experiences involving 18 companies, including WHOOP, Dell Technologies, Toast, Bain Capital, Boston Dynamics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Google, Suffolk Construction and FreightPlus.

Visits begin long before students board a bus.

UP educators collaborate with company employees months in advance to design projects tied directly to the organization’s work. At Toast, students developed food truck businesses while learning about entrepreneurship and restaurant technology. And at WHOOP, they experience product design through engineering and advanced manufacturing.

WHOOP did not respond to requests for comment.

The approach appears to produce notable increases in engagement and interest in STEM careers. According to UP Education Network’s 2025-26 survey data, sixth graders reported significant increases in their confidence after participating in a single company visit. Among one cohort of middle schoolers, 62% reported greater interest in STEM careers after one visit.

The survey findings align with a growing national emphasis on career-connected learning.

Skills USA, a national workforce development organization, has increasingly found that early workplace exposure helps students connect classroom learning with future opportunities, particularly for students who may have limited professional networks.

Career-connected learning initiatives have expanded nationwide as educators seek to improve workforce readiness while helping students make more informed decisions about high school programs and future careers.

One week this spring, sixth graders visited Boston Duck Tours, Boston Dynamics and FreightPlus while eighth graders traveled to Suffolk Construction, Dell Technologies and WHOOP. Students rotated through engineering challenges, technology demonstrations and collaborative design exercises instead of observing from the sidelines.

The experiences are exposing students to industries they may not otherwise encounter, such as engineering, software development, biotechnology, finance, architecture and manufacturing.

The impact extends beyond career exploration by increasing young people’s sense of belonging in these fields.