In December, Snohomish STEM partnered with Edmonds School District Career & Technical Education (CTE) and Edmonds College to host an expanded ECHO Tour℠ (Exploring Careers & Healthcare Opportunities) at Edmonds College.
A total of 109 high school students from four Edmonds School District high schools—Edmonds Woodway, Lynnwood, Meadowdale, and Mountlake Terrace—participated in the ECHO Tour at Edmonds College. Participants were primarily juniors and seniors (84%), with 69% of students identifying as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and explored healthcare careers through hands-on activities and direct interaction with healthcare professionals.
This ECHO Tour was supported by The Boeing Company, whose investment reflects a shared commitment to career-connected learning and building a future-ready workforce for Snohomish County. Healthcare careers play a critical role in supporting community well-being and local economic resilience, and early exploration helps ensure students can envision themselves as part of that future workforce.
Student Impact: Knowledge, Interest, and Career Identity
Post-event survey results show strong gains in student knowledge, interest, and early career self-identification related to healthcare careers.
Students reported a substantial increase in healthcare job knowledge, with average self-ratings rising from 4.18 to 6.01 on a 7-point scale—a 44% increase. Before the event, students averaged approximately 60% of maximum possible knowledge, compared to 86% after participating in ECHO Tour. Notably, the percentage of students reporting high healthcare job knowledge (ratings of 5 or higher) increased from 39% pre-event to 97% post-event, a 58 percentage-point gain.
Student interest in healthcare careers also increased, even from an already high baseline. The share of students reporting high interest rose from 67% before the event to 85% afterward, and average interest scores increased from 5.36 to 6.01. Following the program, 85% of students indicated that they could imagine themselves in a healthcare career one day—highlighting the role ECHO Tour plays not only in awareness, but in helping students begin to see themselves as part of the future workforce.
The student cohort reflected a 65% female and 33% male participation rate, a notable contrast to the U.S. healthcare workforce average, where women comprise approximately 80% of the field and men about 20%. Male participation in ECHO Tour has also increased steadily over time—from 17% in the 2024 pilot, to 26% in March 2025, and 33% in the December 2025 program—suggesting that early, hands-on career exploration programs like ECHO Tour can play a meaningful role in broadening awareness and participation across genders.
What Students Experienced: Interactive Engagement That Builds Curiosity
Students described ECHO Tour as an engaging, interactive experience that expanded their awareness of healthcare careers and sparked curiosity through direct interaction with professionals.
Qualitative student feedback reinforces the survey data and highlights what made ECHO Tour impactful. Students consistently emphasized the value of interactive engagement with healthcare professionals, combining hands-on learning with authentic conversations about careers, pathways, and real-world experiences.
Students shared:
- “I loved learning about all of the possibilities!”
- “Getting to know what I want to do and seeing it in person by people that do it.”
- “I really enjoyed all the hands-on activities such as the nursing simulation mannequins, CPR, and dental hygienists.”
- “Learning about pharmacology and hospice care.”
- “I enjoyed learning about sports medicine & psychology in sports.”
- “I really liked the washing hands lab. It was cool to see the light up germ simulation.”
- “I liked learning about the poison control job and about things that can poison you.”
- “I enjoyed the nursing stations and the interactive exercises! I’ve gotten curious and learned a lot!”
- “I liked how interactive the activities were!”
Together, these reflections highlight how interactive engagement with professionals helps students connect learning to real career possibilities.
Across responses, students highlighted increased curiosity, exposure to a wide range of healthcare careers, and a better understanding of education and training pathways—key outcomes of effective career-connected learning.
Healthcare Partners & Community Collaboration
ECHO Tour was made possible by the generosity and leadership of healthcare organizations and professionals who facilitated interactive stations and shared their career journeys with students. Special thanks to:
- Alpha Home Health and Hospice
- Dental Hygienist professional, Cyndi Christofferson
- Edmonds College Nursing
- Edmonds College Pharmacy
- IRG Physical & Hand Therapy
- Optum Care Washington
- School Nurse Corp professional, Sarah Barquero
- Sports Psychology professional, Xeindria Chandran
- Washington Poison Center
Their willingness to engage directly with students helped bring healthcare careers to life and demonstrated the power of employer involvement in career-connected learning.
This program also reflects the strength of the collaborative partnership between Edmonds School District CTE, Edmonds College, and Snohomish STEM, which together brought ECHO Tour back to Edmonds College for a second year—expanding access for students across south Snohomish County.
Community Leadership, Visibility, and Workforce Alignment
In addition to the student program, Snohomish STEM hosted a VIP Tour that brought together 12 community leaders, including elected officials, funders, and workforce partners, for a behind-the-scenes look at ECHO Tour in action. The VIP Tour highlighted both the healthcare workforce challenges facing Snohomish County and the role that career-connected learning programs like ECHO Tour play as part of the solution.
The event also drew media attention, with a Lynnwood Times senior reporter in attendance and subsequent coverage of the program—further elevating awareness of the importance of investing in early career exploration.
🔗 Lynnwood Times article (12/17/2025): “VIPs tour Snohomish County STEM’s ECHO Tour at Edmonds College”
Investing in a Future-Ready Workforce
ECHO Tour demonstrates how career-connected learning can serve as a long-term investment in regional talent development. By connecting students with real professionals, real pathways, and real opportunities, programs like ECHO Tour help ensure that Snohomish County’s future workforce is informed, inspired, and prepared.
Special thanks to Economic Alliance Snohomish County for championing career-connected learning as a critical strategy for strengthening the region’s workforce pipeline and supporting long-term economic growth. Together—with educators, employers, investors, and community leaders—Snohomish STEM remains committed to expanding access to impactful career-connected learning experiences that support student success, workforce readiness, and sustain a thriving, competitive economy.
ECHO Tour℠ is one of Snohomish STEM’s signature career-connected learning programs, alongside STEM Like Me!®, Explore I.T. Careers℠, and Spring into STEM℠. We also collaborate with partners on programs such as Girls Explore STEM (with WSU Everett), AMTEC Manufacturing Day Tour (with Everett Community College), and Expanding Your Horizons (with Edmonds College).
Together, these programs are investing in our future workforce—helping students connect what they learn in school to meaningful, high-demand careers.
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