Exposing students to quality STEM education has a multitude of benefits: critical thinking, collaboration, relationship building, and perseverance are all enhanced by involvement in STEM activities (Ugras, 2018). A well-trained and diverse STEM workforce is also critically important for the United States to remain competitive a global economy. Unfortunately, there are clear gender and racial disparities among Americans employed in STEM-related fields (Funk & Parker, 2018). Greater student engagement in STEM can be fostered by programs which build STEM identity, make content relevant and meaningful, and allow for experiential, "hands-on, minds-on" learning (Allen et al., 2019). This quantitative study evaluated the impact of one such program, the STEAM Tank Design Challenge. Student participants (n= [approximately]100) were given a retrospective self-change survey upon completion. The data was collected by the Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) Institute and analyzed by the researcher to determine the impact of participation on student interest in STEM content and STEM careers. Specific impacts on women and minority students were considered to examine the potential for high-quality STEM programming to help eliminate gender and racial gaps in the field. Such programs, if proven successful, can greatly benefit students and communities. STEM programs may be utilized not only to motivate students to pursue STEM career pathways, but also as a means by which underserved groups can be given exposure and access to greater opportunities, helping to mitigate inequity both in the STEM fields and in society as a whole. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]