(WHTM)– For the first time, Penn State Harrisburg hosted a new conference meant to inspire high school students to pursue careers in “STEM” fields.

Students from more than 100 local high school students were there for the “Aspire-2-Teach” conference.

Organizers say it’s a great chance to get a more diverse group of young people into the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

“You know one of the things I want to think about is the possibilities that they didn’t see in themselves or in their career opportunities you know thinking about the possibilities of going out there and leveraging these technologies to change the world,” director of information for Penn State Harrisburg Dr. Roderick Lee said.

Penn State Harrisburg used state grant funding to pay for the conference.