What determines the trajectory of a STEM career? It’s all about who shows up for you at the right time.

In this first episode of the Abundance Imperative podcast, Last Mile Education Fund founder and CEO Ruthe Farmer sits down with Dr. Marvin Carr-Ligons, Walmart’s Senior Director of Community Resilience and a member of Last Mile’s Champions Board.

They reflect on their work together at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Obama administration, and how their two different working class paths led to a shared mission to help financially vulnerable students achieve economic mobility.

Marvin shares his story growing up in Detroit and how falling in love with science on a childhood field trip led him to pursue a doctorate in electric and electronic engineering. He highlights how key gifts from benefactors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cleared a pathway for his future at the White House and beyond, and why “time poverty” is a barrier that tech leaders have a responsibility to clear to help future workers learn and join the workforce.

Ruthe explores her nomadic, unpredictable childhood and how she almost didn’t discover her STEM talent until a professor refused to let her take a course pass/fail.

Together, these two leaders get into how their talent was considered unlikely, and how Last Mile Education Fund is helping to uncover the hidden potential of students in similar financial circumstances.

Marvin shares how Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are recognizing the need for an innovation talent pipeline, and how the company is helping workers in entry-level positions scale up their skills to prepare for leadership roles at Walmart across tech, management, and more.

This episode makes the case — in the clearest possible terms — for why investing in STEM students who are close to the finish line isn't about charity. It's the highest-yield investment in the American tech workforce available to any donor right now.

Learn more and support Last Mile's mission:

https://www.lastmile-ed.org/

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