While other schools enjoyed the typical end-of-year field trips to This Is the Place and natural history museums, sixth graders from Majestic Elementary Arts Academy took a field trip no other students have ever taken. Their visit to SchoolAI headquarters was about better understanding AI tools but also about career exploration.

“Because technology is becoming more and more relevant in their life, and they're going to end up probably following a career that is heavily influenced by technology, and so for them to see that there were so many different routes that they could take was eye opening for them,” sixth grade teacher Angus Douglas said.

During the interactive field trip students rotated to different departments to learn about the various roles. They made product decisions with an UX designer, coded an Easter egg with an engineer, created products with a brand director and problem-solved scenarios with a customer success manager. Students even created AI spaces of their own including a Spongebob math game show, a Gordon Ramsay cooking assistant and an AI therapist. 

Principal Marianne Johansen said it was a valuable and meaningful experience for the students.

“We're really trying to focus on giving our students experiences that will help them connect to the real world,” Johansen said. “I think the younger we can kind of open up their eyes to options, the more it gives them different ideas to explore.”

Johansen often provides experiences for students that they might not usually get, like taking students of the month out to lunch so they learn how to order from a menu. Douglas said most of his students have never been in a business building and are most familiar with low paying, unskilled jobs. 

Johansen arranged the SchoolAI field trip with Kasey Chambers, a former Jordan School District digital specialist who now works at SchoolAI.

Chambers saw students’ attitudes change in the short time she spent with them. One student was so impressed with the building, he inquired about a janitorial position. “And then that same kid, after going around the building was like, ‘No, I can actually be an engineer. I think I'm going to try and be an engineer,’” Chambers said. Another student remarked that they felt smarter just being in the building.

“With any kid, representation and also seeing what is possible is the key to opening up the world to them,” Chambers said. “They have so many choices and opportunities available to them, they just have to see it. I think they just took it all in, and they really just saw another possibility for them.”

Johansen said the SchoolAI employees really made the students feel a part of their company. They ate lunch with them and the CEO even took some time to share how he grew an idea into a successful business.

SchoolAI, located in Lehi, has never hosted a school field trip before and Chambers said employees enjoyed it as much as the kids. “I have been bringing engineers out to our partner schools for them to see what it looks like, but to bring kids in here to talk to them and hang out with them-- it was just the most energizing,” Chambers said. “Our mission is kids and doing what's best for them and helping them learn, and it was just the best day.”