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Gelfand Student Award Winners

Elizabeth Chang-Davidson, Alex Gourley, and Deetya Iyer are the 2023 recipients of the Gelfand Center’s Educational Outreach Awards for dedicating their time and expertise to make a difference in the lives of children in the community and around the world.  You can read about their work HERE.

See winners from previous years below.

  • Dilara Ozdoganlar, a senior [Materials Science & Engineering; Biomedical Engineering] completed an Emerging Leaders project designed to build awareness about the impact of income inequality on educational opportunities for children. The project motivated Dilara to contribute to the outreach activities of the Society of Women Engineers [SWE] for four years, helping to introduce children to engineering and coding through High School Days, Middle School Days and SWE++. Dilara helped to coordinate the events as SWE president to ensure success during in 2021-2022. Dr. Annette Jacobson, College of Engineering noted, “Dilara is passionate about her work and dedicated to providing an excellent educational outreach experience for young students …  This is important work to ensure that the next generation of engineers benefit from a diverse pool of talent.”

  • Shaelyn Parker, a senior majoring in Chemistry, shared her talents through a variety of educational outreach programs, including serving as a grader for the CMU Science Olympiad for high school students, helping young children have success with STEM activities as a TA for on-campus programs for children, mentoring children at Assemble [a community organization], and developing Digital Education Modules for elementary students during an experiential learning course.  She even created additional modules on her own following the course.  JD Whitman, PlasticTides Global Youth Mentor Program Director shared, “Shaelyn is providing the next generation of change-makers with access to environmental education. Her passion for science research, communication and education is making a monumental difference in the lives of children and communities worldwide.”

  • Anesha Santhanam, sophomore in Information Systems, founded Likeable STEM to promote fun and interactive STEM education to communities without available computer science curriculum, partnering with local learning hubs such as libraries, non-profits, and schools to ensure that STEM is accessible to all. Partnerships with groups such as NCWIT (National Center for Women and Information Technology), CS4All, and Girls Who Code enable workshops for younger girls. Through an independent study Anesha is working with Pittsburgh Public Schools to gather information from students and educators on how CMU can encourage students to pursue a technology career.  Maureen Stewart, Northern Vermont University, said, “Anesha is a student and continues to provide STEM programs free to students/educators in the United States… her commitment to the profession has historical perspectives, present practical applications, and a vision for the future.”

  • Runbo Guo
    Runbo, a computer science senior, is a mentor for the Girls of Steel robotics team, and was an RA with the Robotics Feiyue summer camp for high school students. She often hosted Girls of Steel team members at Saturday Zoom nights. "I know that some girls are feeling more disconnected with the team [during the pandemic], so this was just a time where we did group games … and chatted,” Guo said. “The Zoom room was definitely a highlight of my week! She always had great stories to tell and gave out a lot of great advice regarding robotics, college and being a female in STEM," said one of the Girls of Steel team members
  • C.J.Argue
    Argue, a Ph.D. student in mathematics, is the head coach of the Western PA ARML Team, a Pittsburgh area math team for students in grades 6-12. The team has tripled in size under Argue’s leadership and he has re-established corporate sponsorship for the team. “He organized a team of graduate and undergraduate students to lead free math enrichment classes for two separate levels of local middle and high school students” said ARML Faculty Adviser Po-Shen Lo. “I think that he is a terrific example for the students who are working with him, because they can see a sharp mathematical mind dedicated to the task of trying to create good in the world.”
  • Saul Schaffer
    Schaffer, a Ph.D. student in Vickie Webster-Wood’s mechanical engineering lab, has served as a Gelfand STEM ambassador. He designed “It’s Alive! The Science Behind Making Living Robots,” a workshop for middle school students, and was on the coordinating committee for the Road to Research Meet the Researcher series for middle school students. He motivates his lab mates to participate in educational outreach as the Community Service and Outreach Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Organization. “Saul has been the major driving organizer in helping launch our outreach program as a new lab … and I continue to be impressed by his research and academic performance, as well as his heartfelt dedication to outreach and broadening participation in robotics, computing and 3D printing,” Webster-Wood said.
  • Cathy Fang
    Over the last four years, Cathy has dedicated herself to sharing her knowledge and passion for engineering with as many people as possible. While studying at CMU, Cathy has participated in programs like Partners Allied in Civic Engagement, Art2Connect, and Engineers without Borders. On campus, Cathy has created programming for students to share their local community impact projects, such as her MechE Capstone project where she led her team to build an accessible braille printer for visually impaired students at the School of the Blind.  Cathy’s work over the last 2.5 years as the Zimbabwe Project lead with Engineers without Borders has had life changing impacts globally, including the development of more dependable electricity and sustainable cooking systems in the Zimbabwe communities where she works.
  • Harlene Simra
    Harlene is an outspoken advocate for Computer Science Education for all students. Through her work as the president of Teknowledge,and participation in CMU CS Academy, Harlene has been able to share her passion for computer science with K-12 students in the Pittsburgh region, and beyond. With Teknowledge, Harlene has worked with local middle school students to teach coding and other computer science concepts. Through CMU CS Academy, she has written a curriculum to help students learn different coding languages. In her own words, “Creating a free Python curriculum to be used in the K-12 world is a great way to take the skills I have learned as a CS major and try to get kids involved and excited about [coding] at an earlier age.”
  • Shannon Werntz
    Shannon’s passion for sharing her love of STEM learning is exemplified by her broad work in educational outreach throughout the Pittsburgh Community. In her work with Girls of Steel and Local Girl Scouts, Shannon has modeled the value of STEM education as she mentors young girls. Through her work with the Gelfand Center she has provided numerous learning opportunities for students in the Pittsburgh Region as a Gelfand Outreach STEM Ambassador and Workshop TA. Additionally, Shannon has participated in numerous CMU programs in which her work has provided support for local programming, including using her term-long project for Organizational Behavior to benefit Assemble, a local after-school program where she was tutoring.
  • Sarah Yu  
    Sarah brought her love of Science Olympiad to Carnegie Mellon, and used her knowledge of the program to identify a need in the region for invitation-level competition.  Working with partners to found CMU Science Olympiad, Sarah has worked over the last 3 years to create and run an Invitational which in it’s 2nd year saw 25 teams participating from 8 states with over 446 students. As a leader of the CMU Science Olympiad team, Sarah collaborates with CMU faculty, 70 Club Members, School Teams, and the National Science Olympiad to produce an incredible event each year. Through her ingenuity and perseverance, Sarah has shared the same STEM learning opportunity that inspired her, with  students in our local community and throughout the region.
  • Ngoc Phuong (Phoebe) Dinh
Through her work as the Co-Coordinator of the Psychology Outreach Program by the Psychology Graduate Students, Ngoc Phuong (Phoebe) Dinh is an advocate for Psychology education both on campus and off. While working with local schools and after school programs to provide outreach events, Phoebe recruits undergraduate and graduate student presenters to visit with local students. Some topics that have been presented include describing and exemplifying the subdisciplines of Psychology, current research, and potential higher-education and career opportunities. Phoebe has built lasting relationships with community organizations that support underserved populations; bringing psychology to students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn about it. 
  • Kashish Garg
Kashish has been able to take advantage of her academic experiences in Electrical Engineering (ECE) and share them with the CMU and Pittsburgh community. As the President of ECE Outreach, Kashisha has worked with her fellow students to run outreach programming for local middle school and high school students, most notably the Spark Saturday series. For the past 3 years, Kashisha and the ECE Outreach team have had more than 100 high school students come to CMU for 30 Spark Saturdays lab sessions and performed labs about each of the 4 core areas of ECE. Together with ECE Outreach, Kashisha has provided fellow CMU students with the opportunity to improve their academic knowledge, apply it towards helping others and enhance their commitment to both academic excellence and social responsibility.
  • Natalie Isenberg
  • Building on her substantial outreach efforts as an undergraduate, Natalie’s work with the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association has allowed her to share her passion for chemical engineering with the campus community and Greater Pittsburgh region. As Outreach Coordinator, Natalie has organized countless events, recruiting volunteers and planning activities to share with middle school and high school students. In addition to her work as Outreach Coordinator, Natalie has led her research group to sponsor a special award at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Region 7 Competition. Together with her research group, she has attended competitions, judged presentations, and presented their special award in Engineering. Over the last 3 years, Natalie has built a lasting relationship with PJAS and connected local high school students with CMU students to help develop their engineering knowledge, and passion for STEM learning.  
  • Amal Nanavati
    As an undergraduate student in computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, Amal was very interested in participating in outreach, both related and unrelated to computer science. He took many different courses to engage directly with target communities. Additionally, he has spent time outside of the classroom, sharing his expertise. Amal’s service activities include teaching after school computer sciences courses at schools that are under-resourced, teaching English to refugees in Pittsburgh, and creating educational technology for a community in India. In the future, he plans to seek educational outreach opportunities and to conduct community-centric research.
  • Vinitha Ranganeni
    Vinitha uses her interest in robotics and her research at the Robotics Institute to help others to become aware of opportunities in STEM fields. She promotes robotics education to K-12 students by organizing tours of the Robotics institute to share information about research being conducted at CMU. She has served as a mentor to other undergraduate student researchers. In the future, she hopes to further integrate STEM education in schools, give opportunities to underprivileged students, and increase young girls’ interest for learning about robotics and engineering.
  • Meredith Schmehl
    As an undergraduate student, Meredith has always been involved. She participated in a variety of activities, such as serving as a Peer Minister, being the president of the Neuroscience Student Advisory Council, serving as the founding president of the CMU Nu Rho Psi honor society chapter, and doing research in various labs. Additionally, she completed service activities as a member of the Lambda Sigma and Mortar Board honor societies.  Meredith coordinated and engaged in at least 30 hours of educational outreach service each year.  In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in neuroscience and continue to conduct outreach related to science and education.
  • David Busch
    David draws on his research related to 1960s social movements to create curricula that underscores social justice and empowers young people in Pittsburgh to become involved in issues and struggles for human rights. He engages with the local community through a variety of activities including supporting workshops for the Social Change 101 series, and by facilitating adult education courses with the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council.
  • John Choi
    John has presented sessions at many university educational outreach programs including School of Computer Science Tech Nights, Gelfand Outreach, and the SWE Middle School Days.  He also mentored a team of 5 high school students in building cybernetic robot hands over a 10 week period through the Project Ignite program.  Additionally, he conducted dozens of program with community organizations such as the Remake Learning Network, Southwestern PA Bots IQ, and the Carnegie Science Center.  John’s started a company, Choitek LLC which was named as one of 150 teams worldwide in the internationally recognized AI XPrize competition to build robots to inspire women into STEM on a global scale over the next four years.
  • Kelly Li
    Kelly Li notes that Architecture is fundamentally linked to STEAM based learning; it is a fully integrated problem solving approach that inherently combines disciplines. Her goal has been to share with students the value of design as a process for solving problems.  Kelly has taught in many programs including the School of Architecture Saturday Sequence programs, Pittsburgh Public Schools Summer Dreamers Academy and through work with Assemble. She also assisted with the development of EQUIP backpacks that include everything that an educator needs to present a 9-week architecture course in an elementary classroom.
  • Cameron Breze
    Cameron began working as a SciTech Tutor during the fall of his freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University. Over the past two years, he has developed a strong relationship with the teacher he works with, Dr. Edwina Kinchington, and with each of the students in her first period class. These high school juniors look to Cameron for help with concepts in biology because of his position as a tutor, but he also serves as a mentor, answering questions about finishing high school, moving on to college, and the "next steps." Cameron wrote, "This is my favorite part of my experience so far at SciTech. Also, I believe the time I have spent helping to teach these biology concepts has solidified my own core knowledge base, as well as having helped me improve my public speaking skills and confidence overall. It has been one of the most enriching and engaging experiences of my undergraduate education thus far.”
  • Allison Perna
    Allison tutored with the Gelfand Center and mentored younger students through Alpha Phi Omega and other avenues during her career at Carnegie Mellon University. It wasn't until her senior year though that she felt really comfortable saying that she had, "successfully achieved incorporating significant educational outreach and service activities into my educational experience at CMU, and the heart of this award truly resembles my work with Project Ignite." Project Ignite was something that enabled Allison to get involved with outreach in a managerial and advising role and it proved beneficial to her and the other co-founder of Project Ignite. Allison hopes to be involved in future outreach activities as she ventures into her professional career after graduating from CMU.
  • David Baboolall
    David is a very committed, charismatic and engaged student leader who has an unwavering belief in that all people have the capacity and social obligation to contribute to meaningful community development. One of his major commitments dedicated to education in youth is Project Rwanda, an organization that he re-founded and was President of. Since the organization’s reestablishment, he initiated a PenPal program with the primary school students in Pittsburgh, PA and the primary school students in Kigali, Rwanda. The mission of this project is to empower primary school students to pursue their passions through higher education. David has been involved in a variety of service organizations, which has given him the opportunity to teach English to young students that needed it most, to fly across the country to represent a human rights organization and even travel to Washington D.C. to compete against some of our most elite peer institutions.
  • Kenny Joseph
    As a graduate student in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, Kenny has committed his time and effort in outreach by providing more opportunities for the underprivileged and underrepresented in his area of expertise. These efforts have primarily taken the form of presiding over and volunteering a weekly computer science course at the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy. In addition, Kenny has also been involved with numerous computer science “Roadshows”, where he spent one hour introducing groups of up to 50 students at a time to the field of computer science and opportunities within it. He has volunteered at CS4HS, a summer program for high school computer science educators and has also co-­‐designed and run a summer workshop for deaf and hard of hearing high school students. Kenny states that he is “confident that my efforts are at least moving my field in the right direction towards diversity and stronger opportunities for all students.”
  • Leslie Tay
    Leslie has taken part in many service and leadership opportunities during her time at Carnegie Mellon. As Tri Delta’s Greek Sing Philanthropy Chair, she led her chapter to raise $16,727.46 for CMU’s largest student-run philanthropic event to be donated to the local cancer support non-profit organization - Our Clubhouse. In addition, she is heavily involved in the Global Public Health Brigades, a sub-set of the non-profit organization Global Brigades. This service organization has become a huge aspect of her time here at Carnegie Mellon, allowing her to grow both as a student leader and young adult through her leadership roles as a brigader and a two-time president. Leslie is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, the national service fraternity, in which she makes weekly trips to the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Children’s Institute and serve at the concession stands during CMU and local high school football games and carnival.
  • Jeff Cooper
    Jeff Cooper is a senior Computer Science major. Dedicated to outreach in his community, Jeff was president of the robotics club for two consecutive years, teaching the STU-CO course Introduction to Robotics, and orchestrating the formation of the Trinity Dublin College Robotics Club. During his time as a student, he spent numerous hours working with CMU Police and Health Services, eventually rising to become Executive Director of the Carnegie Mellon Emergency Medical Service. After completing his own training, he sought ways he could share his skills. When he became certified as an EMT, he began training others community-wide, expanding the accessibility of EMR courses to CMU affiliated persons, and students at CCAC. In addition, Cooper has been a dedicated tour guide & coordinator for the School of Computer Science.  Cooper wrote, “Personally, I’ve grown to be a confident public speaker, to be comfortable in front of a crowd, and to learn where I fit in to the larger CMU community as a Computer Science student.”   
  • Niharika Singh
    Niharika Singh is the President and founder of ECE Outreach, which she directed from 2012 to 2014. Though her initial goals were to provide grade school students a chance to learn what engineering is really about through hands-on lab experiences, and to provide mentorship to these students via university students, Singh’s efforts also produced a wildly successful organization that expanded to include SPARK Saturday workshops, a series of five two-hour sessions that contain hands-on lab modules created and run by volunteers. SPARK has already received a grant towards future expansion, with corporate sponsors interested in funding future activities. Of her experience, Singh wrote, “Education has been the major formative experience of my life, and it has truly made me who I am. Because of this, helping others by providing educational opportunities to them has always been one of the major goals of my life. I believe that education can give people the tools they need to ensure their own happiness and make the world a better place.”
  • Ada Zhang
    Robotics Institute graduate student Ada Zhang has led TechNight as Graduate Student Organizer since 2012, conducting several workshops of her own, and organizing a tour for middle school girls to engage with six robots in different stages of production. Zhang is also a lead mentor for Girls of Steel, a prominent CMU outreach program that introduces high school girls to science, technology, engineering & mathematics. The purpose of TechNights & Girls of Steel is to provide safe, encouraging, and fun environments for girls to learn about STEM, connect with other girls who have similar interests, and meet women who are currently in STEM fields. Zhang has dedicated her time to leading workshops with topics such as fractals, DNA replication, and protein synthesis. Zhang also joined Outreach Roadshow to present computer science-related opportunities to K-12 students and their teachers.  As a young woman in engineering, Zhang hopes to serve as a role model who encourages young women to pursue STEM-related careers. 
  • Christian Aponte
    Global Studies & Hispanic Studies major Christian Aponte served as ESL Instructor and volunteer at the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Center from 2012-present. In 2012, Aponte also designed educational workshops for impoverished community in rural Nicaragua. He is currently the Assistant Director for CMU Strive for College, a grassroots mentoring organization that ensures that every willing low-income high school student has the information and support necessary to successfully enroll in a four-year university. The goal of STRIVE is to build mentees’ confidence to enhance their social capital while adopting a personal identity of ‘learner.’ As Assistant Director, Aponte worked with the Westinghouse School to increase the programming for the students and the mentoring experience for the CMU students, including resume and scholarship workshops.  Aponte’s determination and vision created a positive and effective program that meets once per week with 20 Westinghouse Academy students.  In 2013, Aponte won a Fullbright Award to travel to Brazil to teach English to Brazilians preparing to host the 2014 World Cup. He will also be promoting health, nutrition, and mentoring while conducting an ethnographic research project on affirmative action and the construction of racial identity among young adults.
  • Emily Feenstra
    Emily Feenstra studies International relations and Politics, and Policy & Management, and is currently the only Scholar in Service for Pennsylvania at the university. Her position as a part-time AmeriCorps volunteer allows her to work with PACE and Facilitation Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment (FORGE). Feenstra has been the president of FORGE from August 2009 to May 2013. As president, she planned and organized events, and coordinated student tutors to provide learning support to Bhutanese refugees who resettled to Pittsburgh. During her time as president, she doubled the number of members actively involved in the organization. In addition, Feenstra engaged in direct services, mentoring and providing ESL instruction for a family of eight. She has engaged in various community service projects abroad, including IXCHEN Centro de Mujeres, where she joined the consortium for the prevention of HIV/ AIDS in Nicaragua, and as Volunteer English Teacher in Peru. In 2012, she co-edited an undergraduate research journal for International Relations and Politics with a special focus on refugees. Feenstra writes, “My service with FORGE has taught me several underlying principles. Never make assumptions about what is obvious or given; a key to connecting with others is to start from a point of mutual understanding. There is always something to learn from those around you.”
  • Peeya Tak
    Peeya Tak is a Decision Science and Biomedical Engineering major, and president of East End Youth Project.  During her time as an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University, she transformed and led the tutoring/ mentoring program, organizing a partnership between East End Youth Project and Higher Achievement, a national organization that runs summer and after school programs for youth. During her time as president of this organization, she improved the CMU member retention rate, focused on forming strong connections and rapport between mentors and students, and established a warm, friendly environment. Tak also formed an executive board for East End Youth Project so that other members could become more involved, and she created an officer-transition period so the next president would be prepared to manage and further improve the organization. In addition, Tak visited the Mother Teresa Home, an orphanage in Northern India, to participate in volunteer work. Her visit influenced her to consider a career in the medical field. Tak states:  “I believe the most profound effect I have had on the Higher Achievement Homewood community is teaching the children simple skills that will help them succeed as a person, not just a student.”
  • Devin Beahm
    Psychology and Global Studies major Devin Beahm has shared her leadership skills with the community on and off campus, including President’s Student Advisory Council, the Kappa Alpha Theta Executive Board, CMU’s Day of Service, and as a participant of The Fund for American Studies International Political and Economic Program in Prague.  Between 2010 and 2011, she volunteered for Project Sunshine, a nonprofit organization that provides free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families. Beahm devoted three semesters to Strong Girls, Strong Women, a group-based mentoring program that uses the study of contemporary women role models, mentoring relationships between college-aged women and girls in grades 3-5, and activities focused on skill-building, to help enhance the lives of at-risk girls.
  • Carmen Easterwood
    Carmen Easterwood began her experience with service work on an Alternative Break trip to teach English in the Dominican Republic. Her junior year of college, she became involved with FORGE, an organization that educates, empowers, and enriches the lives of refugees in order to catalyze sustainable social change, and began working with a Bhutanese refugee family, teaching English and other cultural skills. Over winter break 2011-12, Easterwood volunteered for two weeks at a school in Sri Lanka, teaching basic computer literacy and internet skills to children. The curriculum varied with the age of the children; older children learned to make PowerPoints and send emails while younger children learned how to use a mouse and type. She also provided one-on-one English lessons to younger children. In her senior year, Easterwood organized and fundraised in order to lead the OO@CMU trip to the Dominican Republic.
  • Paula Levin
    Paula Levin, a graduate student at the Heinz College, first proposed a project to lay the groundwork for a nonprofit creative writing organization that would provide free workshops and homework help to youth in a unique space as part of her capstone project. She and her team discovery that there was widespread interest among Pittsburgh’s kids + creativity network to see an 826-inspired organization in Pittsburgh. They worked tirelessly to develop a network of partnerships and stakeholder support within the Pittsburgh community, meeting with more than 50 people and attending events and meetings related to afterschool activities, digital literacy, and non-profit management.  Her leadership and hard work helped to guide the team to several successes, including the award of a $15,000 grant from the Sprout Fund to launch a pilot project. Her team’s organization, The LAB, provides a space for collaboration, innovation and community engagement among youth, adults, and organizations focused on kids and creativity.
  • Julie Mallis
    An Art and Anthropology major in the BHA interdisciplinary program, Julie Mallis worked as a volunteer with Somali refugee children in collaboration with the MGR Foundation. She incorporated her art and anthropology to teach issues of culture, ethnicity, and identity through artistic expression in an after-school class for children. As part of her project, she traveled to the Netherlands to interview Somali refugees and to create a writing and art exchange between the Netherlands and Pittsburgh. She also helped to facilitate the Tolerance Toolkit Project, which brought "toolkits" to Pittsburgh Public Schools to raise awareness about tolerance. Her creativity, curiosity, and hard work allowed her to see her academic learning as part of a larger ethical commitment to understand and contribute to the community she lives in. During her time at CMU, she also assisted at Propel Homestead, leading the Lawrenceville United Summer Camp workshops and helping to run programs at Shuman Detention Center.
  • Amy Badiani
    International Relations, Policy & Management, was instrumental in the development of the service organization Project Rwanda, which enabled teams of Carnegie Mellon undergraduates to travel to Kigali to provide educational programs for approximately 150 children.  The group also established a pen pal program through which CMU students interacted with children before and after the trip.
  • Angel Gonzalez
    International Relations and Politics, was focused on the question of how the public service, academic and government sectors can work together to amplify their effect on low-income communities.  He served as group leader for Students in Free Enterprise: Nicaragua,  the service chair for the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and also contributed time, energy and knowledge with local youth through tutoring and mentoring activities.
  • Danielle Morse
    Biology and Psychology, participated in several educational outreach program and also coordinated the inaugural Spring Break in Pittsburgh Service Week through which twenty Carnegie Mellon undergraduate students made connections with local service organizations [such as the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Gilda’s Club, Habitat for Humanity, Jubilee Soup Kitchen and Storehouse for Teachers], networked within the immediate and greater community.
  • Eda Akyar
    Eda has always had a passion for helping other people, and she is grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to her to serve throughout her life. As a volunteer for the International Race Committee, Eda taught newly arrived refugees English, reading, writing, math, and science. At Carnegie Mellon, she was involved with several service organizations such as Strong Women, Strong Girls and Global Medical Brigades. Her involvement with these service organizations has combined her love for helping others, working with those from different cultures, education and empowerment, and science. As a result of the brigade and her yearning to learn more about Latin America, she joined with Dr. Caroline Acker from the History Department for an independent study revolving around history, anthropology and health. Her research project focused on understanding the needs of those living in isolated villages, like those that are served during the brigades, in order to improve the impact of the brigades and to develop ways to create sustainability. With a better understanding of the structure of the communities these villagers live in and their lifestyle and cultural beliefs, Eda hopes to develop plans ‘to improve our impact and ways in which we can begin to foster sustainability”.
  • Jana Diesner
    Jana’s mission is to encourage and empower K-12 students, especially women and minorities, to pursue careers in computing, and to promote computational thinking among students from all backgrounds. Her goal with this work is to stimulate a higher diversity and stronger participation in computing. After helping with, organizing and leading a variety of K-12 outreach activities, Jana became interested in creating a steady program that provides local school students with early exposure to computing. She was particularly interested in working with middle school students because research has shown that girls start to lose interest in math and science around that age. She started running the Computer Science Prep (CS Prep) program at Pittsburgh Milliones 6th‐12th University Preparatory School in January 2010. CS Prep was designed to provide students with opportunities to discover basic principles of computing and computational thinking through fun activities. What she hopes to accomplish with CS Prep and her other community service activities is to encourage a few students from the next generation of potential problem solvers to tackle challenges in different domains by using a computational approach, and to feel comfortable and excited about using technology.
  • Nathan Frank
    While studying Business Administration and Spanish, Nathan shared his time and expertise through a variety of organizations such as Urban Youth Action, tutoring high school students; Alternative Spring Break through which he worked with Orphanage Outreach to teach English to orphaned Dominican and Haitian children; volunteer to teach English to Hispanic children in Pittsburgh through ABC Spanish Playtime™ and Adventures in Spanish™; and through the service learning course, Community Outreach and Service Learning: Hispanic Pittsburgh.