STEMworks™ celebrates Maui engineers during student event
The courtyard of Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Ke Alahele Center in Kīhei was packed with over 119 middle and high school students on February 26 for the 26th annual STEMworks™ Introducing Engineering Careers event. As part of MEDB’s celebration of National Engineers Week, observed every year during the third week of February, the MEDB STEMworks engineering event provides Maui students with a chance to connect with local engineers and see how engineering can offer Maui residents a pathway to rewarding and stable jobs.
Students engaged in hands-on civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering activities led by engineers from the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Hawaiian Electric, and the National Science Foundation’s National Solar Observatory. The students were also able to tour the offices of Privateer, Cloudstone, and ʻĀina Archeology, all companies based in the Kīhei Research and Technology Park. Additional companies ran exhibit tables during the event to answer students’ questions about engineering education and careers, including University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, Alpha Inc., Hansel Phelps, CDF Engineering, Pacific Disaster Center, EO Solutions, Brown & Caldwell, and the Hawaiʻi Society of Professional Engineers.
Engineering plays a critical role in almost all industries on Maui and across the state. In 2025, almost 800 jobs in Maui County were engineering positions. Statewide, there were over 12,000 engineering jobs in 2025, covering everything from ship and marine engineering to biomedical engineering. With average salaries ranging from $75,000 to $150,000 (depending on the specific occupation), these engineering jobs are promising options for local students looking for careers that can allow them to stay in Hawaiʻi as adults while also serving their community.
Lalaine Pasion, STEMworks program manager, shared, “As a community, more than 72 STEM professionals and engineers from across Maui County showed up to support students. This reflects the strength of our community working together to grow local talent, keep our youth home, and build strong futures in Hawaiʻi. When community shows up like this, students see their future has a place right here at home.”
MEDB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Kīhei, offering business assistance services, workforce development and education programming, and professional conferences in Maui Nui and statewide. More information can be found at https://www.medb.org/.
