Johns Creek Students Raise STEAM Awareness In Ecuador

JOHNS CREEK, GA —From Project STEAM: This past Thanksgiving break, students Ridhi Choragudi and Meghan Kulkarni, co-founders of organization Project STEAM, aimed at raising STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) awareness across the globe, travelled to Lumbisi, Ecuador, a primarily agrarian community just outside of Quito. Most of the families in Lumbisi come from extremely underprivileged backgrounds, looking for work opportunities in Quito. Because most of these families live paycheck-to-paycheck, the children must work during and right after high school to support their families, as only 5% of the students attend college. To show these students that they could reach their full potential beyond the technical skills taught at their high school, Colegio Pedro Echeverria Teran, Project STEAM created a STEAM education workshop, or “STEAM Week” for these students where they learned about each aspect of STEAM and their applications; the week exposed the students to a much diverse and wide range of subjects and ways of learning than they had experienced through their regular school curriculum.

The six months before this trip were spent researching, planning, and fundraising. Project STEAM had thoroughly prepared for the trip by constantly reviewing lesson plans and writing Spanish scripts line by line. By the end of the six months, Project STEAM had fundraised a total of $1,125 through friends and grants from larger organization. This money was used to purchase microscopes, tablets, and school supplies for STEAM week and to donate to the school prior to the week.

Throughout the week, these underprivileged students were able to explore sides of STEAM subjects that
they had never dreamed of learning; the students learned the usage of microscopes, simple coding and engineering, basic math, and understanding how arts and creativity are required in each of these things. After Project STEAM finished their last workshop on Friday, the administrators and teachers of the highschool surprised Ridhi and Meghan by calling an assembly of all the students attending the high school to formally thank them for their hard work and contributions. Overall, this was a very rewarding experience for the students, the teachers, and the founders of Project STEAM. This experience was completely new for both the students and teachers as Project STEAM was able to show them that there is more to learning than textbooks and lectures.

Project STEAM plans on returning yearly to Lumbisi, Ecuador holding more and larger STEAM workshops
for the students of Colegio Tecnico Pedro Echeverria Teran. This organization will also work locally,
continuing their STEMinism program and holding STEAM workshops and seminars for less fortunate
students in Atlanta. With the support of larger organizations and the community of Johns Creek, Project
STEAM can help underprivileged students fulfill their STEAM dreams.

For more information, please contact: Meghan Kulkarni and Ridhi Choragudi, Co-Presidents of Project STEAM at projectsteam.inc@gmail.com or visit our website at www.theprojectsteam.wixsite.com/home.

Photo courtesy of Project STEAM