High schooler Monroe Farbs didn’t expect a robot to go in for a hug.
The Uplift Summit International Preparatory junior watched a humanoid machine offer three options — fist bump, handshake or hug — and then mirror each move with uncanny timing at a booth inside Esports Stadium Arlington.
“It sparked that inner curiosity to figure out why it works the way it does, and how we could mimic or improve it,” said Farbs, a member of the Arlington charter school’s robotics team.
Uplift Education’s second annual Tech Expo on Oct. 9 drew students from all 13 of the charter network’s high schools for hands-on exhibits, esports matches and panels with more than 50 organizations, including American Airlines, DreamWorks Animation and the U.S. Cyber Command.
The public charter network billed the event as a way to connect classrooms with real-world technology — from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to robotics and health care — and to help students test-drive career paths that increasingly rely on tech skills.
Incoming Uplift CEO Remy Washington, who takes helm of the system Jan. 1, opened the expo with a simple challenge: Be active, be curious and don’t let the tools outrun your judgment.
“AI can help you. It can create,” she told students. “But it doesn’t work without you. I like to say AI doesn’t work without AI — amazing individuals. … The future isn’t just coming. You guys are the ones who are going to shape it.”
The expo grew out of Uplift’s expanded Road to College & Career work and its core value to “inspire innovation,” Washington told the Fort Worth Report.
“Technology literally changes every day,” she said. “We feel a responsibility to be on the forefront. And not just showing students how to use tools but how to leverage them responsibly to shape the world.”
She pushed back on a familiar worry — that AI will replace human thought. Uplift’s job is to help students use these tools to enhance what they bring to the table, not replace it, she said.
“At some point, your brain cells have to work,” she said. “You have to think critically and bring creativity to any career path.”
Expanding students’ career horizons
American Airlines drew long lines to its flight simulators.
That was the point, said Tanner Price, technical lead at American Airlines who works with the carrier’s student outreach.
“We’re one company, but there are so many careers: IT, flight, maintenance,” he said. “Simulators are a bridge. They show fundamentals of flight, but they also connect to software development. Students see accurate cockpits, the code behind the experience. It makes a job that seems out of reach feel real.”
Across the floor, Children’s Health staff walked students through tech they don’t always associate with hospitals: a mobile app built for families, robotic process automation that frees clinicians from low-level tasks and the less-visible firewall of cybersecurity.
“A lot of students told us, ‘I thought hospitals were just doctors and nurses.’ Today widens that aperture,” said Angie Kaiser, a nurse by training who now serves as program director for technology strategy.
RobotLab — with classroom, hospitality and “first-in” safety robots — offered one of the day’s more hands-on demonstrations.
“Humanoid robots are booming,” Amy George, RobotLab’s K-12 account manager, said. “In schools, they support science, technology, engineering and math lessons; in businesses, they clean corridors, deliver items. Students light up because it’s tangible: ‘Oh, I can build, program or design that.’”
Even the buzzy world of blockchain showed up with Stuff.io, which pitches digital media you actually own — and can resell — instead of rent. CEO Josh Stone said the company hires for curiosity more than credentials.
“This space changes faster than institutions can keep up,” he said. “The people who advance are lifelong learners. That’s what we’re modeling here.”
‘Use AI to my advantage’
For Anabella González Márquez, also a junior on Uplift Summit’s robotics team, the day confirmed her career direction.
“I’ve always checked hardware specs,” she said. “Now I’m into coding. This reinforces that I’m on the right path.”
Farbs, who balances STEM with a love for English, said the expo broadened her map.
“It helped me see there isn’t just one set way to do it,” she said. “Technology touches business, ethics, psychology, and I want to bridge those interests in a way that impacts people.”
Their classmate Ezekiel Garcia left leaning toward music and sound engineering.
“I’ve seen instruments evolve with technology,” he said. “I want to figure out how to use AI to my advantage to create something new.”
Were they worried about AI taking jobs?
“It’s a little scary,” Farbs said, “but half the jobs we’ll have in the future haven’t been created yet.”
Garcia added: “It’s how you look at it. You don’t know what’s ahead but that also means opportunity.”
AI literacy important for schools
The event isn’t only a field trip, Washington argued; it’s future-proofing.
“If districts aren’t thinking about AI literacy, we’re already behind,” she said. “We’re also asking what it means for us educators, infusing AI into curriculum in ways that are safe, ethical and meaningful.”
The expo pulled in corporate teams, universities and startups side-by-side, letting students quiz pilots and developers one minute, then a cybersecurity analyst or biomedical engineer the next.
The idea is repetition: hands-on exposure each year, deepening over time. Leaders said the expo will return with more partners.
Uplift’s goal: keep shrinking the gap between classroom and career — and make sure students know they’re not passengers in the AI era.
They’re in control.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related
Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.
Republish This Story
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.