Inspiring the Next Generation: “Bring Your Child to Work Day” at EchoStar

The tables were turned at the office: our kids were the ones running the show. For Bring Your Child to Work Day, we provided hands-on activities for our team members’ kiddos from ages 8-18. The intention was to create an immersive experience where curiosity could lead to discovery, helping the kids experience the purpose and ‘why’ behind what we do. Whether they were exploring the insides of computers, building robots, or supporting our community, the day was an inspiring look at the future leaders who will one day lead the way.

Suiting Up For Professional Roles

Ever wonder if your child would hire you for your current job? We put them to the test! Our job interview workshop turned the tables on our team members, allowing the kids to sit in the recruiter’s seat. We staged mock interviews, featuring "good" and "bad" candidates, tasking our young audience with a simple question: Would you hire this person?

The results were as hilarious as they were insightful:

• The Harsh Critics (Ages 8-9): Our youngest group proved to be the toughest recruiters. They famously passed on a "good" candidate simply because he claimed he’d be a spider monkey if he were an animal. The verdict? Spiders are "too scary," and therefore, he was out of the running!
• The Analysts (Ages 10-12): This group showed a keen eye for detail, quickly identifying poor interviewing styles in our "bad" candidates and debating exactly why those methods wouldn't fly in a real-world setting.
• The Professionals (Ages 13-18): For our teens, the conversation turned practical. We discussed their current part-time jobs, whether they got their jobs through a standard interview or networking, and the specific types of interview questions they encounter, focusing on how to prioritize their responses to stand out.

The energy of this session peaked as the kids took the lead, practicing their new interviewing skills by interviewing one another. The spirit of professional curiosity extended into our marketing session and Shark Tank style presentations, where the older groups pitched out-of-the-box ideas. 

The Tech Lab

While the teens prepped for their ‘Shark Tank’ presentations, the kids and pre-teens channeled their curiosity into the essential mechanics of our day-to-day equipment. In the IT Discovery Zone, hardware became a hands-on puzzle where kids reassembled keyboards and pieced together the internal components of hard drives. Later in the day, the preteens and kids broke out into individual sessions, tailored towards their respective age groups.

In the ‘Build-A-Bot’ session, our 8-9-year-olds explored creativity through imaginative engineering. They were challenged to develop backstories and superpowers for their robot drawings, treating each like a real-world prototype.

Shifting from creation to cybersecurity, the 10-12 age group put their critical thinking to the ultimate test in ‘Spot the Spoof’, a digital investigation. These junior detectives suited up in fake mustaches and magnifying glasses to sharpen their eyes for detail, determining if online 'cases' were legitimate or malicious digital actors at play.

Teamwork for the Greater Good

To understand the concepts of process efficiency and synchronization, the kids took part in a Six Sigma paper airplane challenge. The kids had to test their designs, analyze the results, and work as a team to improve the efficiency of their fleet, all while racing against the clock. This hands-on game proved that even the smallest adjustments can lead to big results when a team is aligned and focused on a common goal. 

The spirit of collaboration quickly transitioned into a beautiful display of community spirit. Our young guests combined their new found knowledge around efficiency to contribute to the greater good. Through their teamwork, they crafted blankets for those in need and wrote heartfelt thank-you letters to our veterans. These activities served as a powerful reminder that while technical and professional skills are vital, the most important work we do is the work that supports and uplifts the community around us.