Mentorship in Action: STEM Program Inspires Future Engineers at Maryland High School
At DuVal High School in Maryland, the next generation of scientists and engineers took center stage during the school’s annual science and engineering symposium – and the results reflected the power of mentorship.
This year, several students were part of a new outreach effort known as the Knowledge Advancement Program (KAP), a STEM initiative launched by KBR to inspire and support high school students pursuing technical careers. The program paired students with experienced KBR engineers and space professionals, offering hands-on guidance, real-world context, and exposure to cutting-edge missions.
The two highest-ranking presenters at the symposium were KAP participants. Their projects earned enthusiastic praise from both teachers and classmates, with one educator noting the presentations were on par with industry-level preliminary design reviews.
“KAP is quickly becoming a buzzword at the school,” said Milagros Silverio, KAP manager and a KBR senior project Staff Engineer who volunteered in the program. “Teachers noted that KBR should take pride in how well its students performed—and how effectively its mentors supported them.”
KAP was created as part of KBR’s broader STEM outreach commitment – a key element of its community engagement efforts. The program aims to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and math and create a more inclusive pipeline for future innovators.
The pilot program launched in November 2024, working with 12 students from the school’s aviation technology program. Eight of them opted into the mentoring track and were paired with KBR volunteers who brought years of experience in engineering and space exploration. Over the school year, mentors led biweekly sessions on engineering principles and space science and walked students through the processes involved in developing space missions, including NASA’s Roman Space Telescope. Students also received one-on-one coaching to help them choose college majors, refine their senior projects, and map out career paths.
Facility tours, including behind-the-scenes visits to the Goddard Space Flight Center, gave students an up-close look at how large-scale engineering programs come together, bringing classroom concepts to life.
The early results speak volumes: students in the program didn’t just participate, they excelled.
“By investing in programs like KAP, KBR is helping to shape the future of STEM,” said Tracy Dorsey, KBR’s vice president of Science, Engineering and Operations. “We’re proud to support the next generation of scientists and engineers – one student at a time.”
