Rural brain drain is just as much about those left behind in small-town America as it is about those who leave. Local industries and social capital suffer when “the best and the brightest” are forced to leave Main Street for metropolises. This session will touch on how career and technical education can act as a direct antidote to brain drain by providing students with more relevant educational opportunities that allow students to stay in and better engage with their communities, while also serving the industries that hope to hire them.