Project overview

Growing up in Pelham, NY, I didn't discover engineering until high school. My younger brother loves building and wants to be an engineer one day, but like me he didn't have early exposure in elementary school. To change that, I proposed an afterschool engineering program to the district director of science & math, who connected me with a local elementary principal. That led to a two-week summer camp where I created daily curricula and affordable hands-on challenges using dollar-store and school-supplied materials.

I recruited a team of 26 high-school volunteers to run sessions; after the successful summer camp we transitioned to a biweekly afterschool program from winter through spring. Thirty students signed up and attendance was strong — families could register for individual lessons so students attended the topics that interested them most.

Now the program is being stewarded by current high-school students to keep the mentorship loop going. The goal is to give elementary students early, low-cost access to engineering activities so they can explore STEM pathways earlier than I did.