Pinnacle Group Chairman and CEO Nina Vaca spoke to more than 300 high-school students at BNSF Railway’s Technology Awareness Day in Fort Worth, TX recently.
Vaca stressed the importance of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields and the valuable career opportunities that open up for those who pursue STEM education. She also encouraged students to find opportunities while in school similar to the P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program that Pinnacle Group supports.
“By focusing in the STEM fields, students can be a part of the tremendous economic engine helping make this country run,” Nina Vaca said. “STEM is a vehicle to find success and opportunities in the future for everyone – no matter their gender or race. We need to create these future leaders to meet the demands of tomorrow and to continue to power growth and innovation in American businesses.”
Vaca founded Pinnacle Group, a workforce solutions powerhouse, in 1996 and has spent much of her career focusing on education and creating opportunities for minorities and women in business. At each step of Pinnacle’s evolution, she has been an early adopter of the latest innovations to help propel the company forward. Not only has Vaca dedicated her personal time to expanding opportunities for women and minorities in STEM, but Pinnacle Group provides career preparation training and internship opportunities to high school and college students.
As a company that is continually recognized for its commitment to diversity, Pinnacle Group was proud to join BNSF to support diversity in STEM fields. BNSF started hosting Technology Awareness Day in 2004 as part of the National Black Family Technology Awareness Week, a campaign started by IBM that aims to promote significant minority achievement in engineering, science, and technology.
“As an immigrant and a trailblazing entrepreneur, Nina Vaca is a great partner for BNSF Technology Awareness Day,” Muru Murugappan, BNSF Railway Vice President for Technology Services and CIO, said. “Vaca and her company Pinnacle Group have shown their dedication to expanding opportunities for minorities and advocating greater inclusivity in the STEM fields.”
Laura Harris, from NBC5, was the emcee of the event, which was attended by more than 20 high schools from across the North Texas area. The event also held four contests with the theme “The Future is Here: Tech in the 21st Century.”
