EXPLORE Program

Sign up to participate using the 2023-2024 EXPLORE Program application below!

Should you experience difficulties utilizing or accessing the online application, please contact Steve Parks, DAP’s Director of Programs at sparks@dapinclusive.org.

EXPLORE is a free career immersion program for greater-St. Louis area high school students of color which connects students to industry leaders in the region. Students will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about potential career paths
• Hear personal stories from professional mentors
• Develop essential career-building skills that will help you succeed
• Build relationships that can lead to future internships
• Understand why diversity and inclusion are important in the workplace

EXPLORE Programs:

Alternative Careers in Law with Thompson Coburn (NEW PROGRAM): 10/10/23 & 02/06/24
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Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals: 11/2/23 & 3/5/24
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Bioscience with MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany: 2/29/24 & 3/7/24
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Engine-uity with Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri: 3/14/24 & 4/11/24
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Healthcare with Centene: 2/28/24 & 4/24/24
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Law with Husch Blackwell: 11/8/23 & 11/9/23
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PAWSibilities with Nestlé Purina PetCare Company: TBD
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Supply Chain with Dot Foods (NEW PROGRAM): 2/21/24 & 02/22/24
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Students will spend 1-2 half-day sessions with the host business,
in which they might:

• Hear from company speakers
• Receive tips & practice time for interviewing, resume writing, and networking skills
• Talk with other students and industry professionals about their interests
• Break into small groups with a professional mentor

As high school students begin thinking about their careers, they are looking for jobs in places where they see opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds. The heart of the EXPLORE Career Immersion Program is to make St. Louis that place.

Wide racial disparities in high-demand career fields led Diversity Awareness Partnership and industry leaders in the St. Louis region to invest in EXPLORE Career Immersion programs. EXPLORE focuses on connecting students of color to professional mentors in the business community here in St. Louis, and strengthening the high school-to-career diversity pipeline critical to supporting an equitable and inclusive workforce in our region.

EXPLORE Alternative Careers in Law with Thompson Coburn (NEW!)

2023-2024 Program Dates: 10/10/23 & 02/06/24

This program will provide an opportunity for students to learn about the administrative roles that make a law firm function—Human Resources, Marketing, Events, Finance & Accounting, Diversity, Professional Development, IT, Loss Prevention, etc.). Students will get a glimpse of a variety of career paths available within a law firm and will also have an opportunity to learn about the path to law school from Saint Louis University School of Law.

EXPLORE Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals

2023-2024 Program Dates: 11/2/23 & 3/5/24

The St. Louis Cardinals want to provide diverse youth in the St. Louis community the opportunity to learn more about their organization and the baseball industry. By exposing youth to possible careers in baseball, the Cardinals hope to increase the number of diverse candidates in their recruitment pipeline as they strive to continue to develop an inclusive and diverse workforce, both on and off the playing field.

EXPLORE Baseball is a multi-session program held at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. These engaging half-day sessions provide a unique opportunity for students to better understand the variety of jobs available with the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as how to best prepare themselves for a career in the baseball industry.

EXPLORE Bioscience with MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

2023-2024 Program Dates: 2/29/24 & 3/7/24

According to research published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences, negative socioeconomic factors continue to account for disproportionately lower numbers of racial an d ethnic minorities, such as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training pipeline and scientific workforce. As part of efforts to make the bioscience industry in St. Louis more inclusive, Diversity Awareness Partnership, BioSTL, MilliporeSigma, and Venture Café created the EXPLORE Bioscience program that focuses on connecting students of color to professional mentors and developing important skills to support an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce in our region. Students leave the program with a better understanding of how bioscience, innovation and entrepreneurship are shaping the St. Louis region, as well as the many careers that the industry offers.

EXPLORE Engine-uity with Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri

2023-2024 Program Dates: 3/14/24 & 4/11/24

As a committed champion of diversity and inclusion, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri (TMMMO) encourages “bringing whole self to work” and fosters continuous exploration into making it better for its team members and all other stakeholders. The EXPLORE Engine-uity Program helps fulfill these efforts. This program invites high school students of color to explore career opportunities at the 550,000 square feet plant located in Troy, which uses recycled aluminum to build more than 2.6 million cylinder heads per year.

Toyota thrives on innovation and entrepreneurship. Company-wide, they continue to challenge the status quo in areas such as:

3D simulation
AI and computer vision
Adaptive robots
Additive manufacturing
Augmented reality
Autonomous mobile robots
Carbon footprint reduction
Collaborative robots
Cybersecurity
Data analytics
Electrification and battery manufacturing
Energy efficiency
Worker training and safety

EXPLORE Healthcare with Centene

2023-2024 Program Dates: 2/28/24 & 4/24/24

Students often think about being a doctor or nurse, but may never think about the business side of healthcare. The EXPLORE Healthcare program with Centene is designed for students to learn about those careers. With the help of current employees and interns at Centene, students are able to understand how these jobs are important to the healthcare system.

According to recommendations published by the American College of Physicians, racial and ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented among American healthcare workers and efforts should be made to hire and promote professionals of color in leadership positions in all arenas of the healthcare workforce.

In order to address the racial disparities in healthcare, Diversity Awareness Partnership and Centene Corporation created the EXPLORE Healthcare program that focuses on connecting students of color to professional mentors and developing important skills to support an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce in our region.

EXPLORE Law with Husch Blackwell

2023-2024 Program Dates: 11/08/23 & 11/09/23

Husch Blackwell makes sure that students leave the EXPLORE Law program with an understanding of what each type of lawyer does. Since the law firm represents a broad spectrum of clients across the country, local students get the chance to defend clients in mock cases, negotiate and learn the basis of a contract. Plus, students meet attorneys who have been practicing law their whole career and attorneys who have changed careers, practicing law within the fields they previously worked in.

According to research published by the American Bar Association, less than seven percent of law firm partners across the country identify as a racial minority. In order to address the racial disparities in the legal profession, Diversity Awareness Partnership and Husch Blackwell created the EXPLORE Law program that focus on connecting students of color to professional mentors and developing important skills to support an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce in our region.

EXPLORE PAWSibilities with Nestlé Purina PetCare Company

Every student deserves to pursue a career that fuels their passions and embraces their strengths. Whether you have your path all planned out or are still figuring out what interests you, your future employer just might be the Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. Nestlé Purina has an abundance of job opportunities right here in Greater St. Louis, or you could even follow your professional dreams nationally and globally. Want to hear more?

In that case, you are a perfect fit for DAP’s EXPLORE PAWsibilities program! Through this program, high school students get to spend 2-3 half-day sessions with a diverse group of mentors at Nestlé Purina, with ample time for networking and learning together. You’ll find that your program guides are working in a wide array of disciplines, such as: veterinary science, manufacturing, engineering, human resources, information technology, marketing, business management, corporate communications, and more!

Through the EXPLORE PAWsibilities Program, Nestlé Purina is inviting local high school students of color to consider bringing their talents to the company. You don’t need to have twelve cats to be invested in making the world a better place for pets (although it probably couldn’t hurt, right?)

EXPLORE with Dot Foods (NEW!)

2023-2024 Program Dates: 2/21/24 & 02/22/24

Real-World Adventures: Strap on your safety goggles and venture into the cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions that power the supply chain. From factories to distribution centers and the trucks that transport them there, get up close and personal to witness the magic in action!

Click Here for the EXPLORE Application

Companies that are interested in starting an EXPLORE Program may contact DAP’s Director of Programs, Steve Parks at for more information: sparks@dapinclusive.org or 314-257-0799.