A recent graduate just finished college with a degree in computer science and engineering. She has been part of this family for years, and when the pandemic sent her classes online, it created a new opportunity: to come back and give to the next generation.
She moved home to the Bay Area to be near family for her final semester, and got a call asking if she'd be interested in a part-time job. She said yes and jumped into the world of robotics and STEM here, coordinating three programs at once: Lego Robotics for elementary and middle schoolers, the high school FRC team, and a hands-on STEM workshop for younger students.
Her own first taste of technology and coding came here, too. As a high school freshman, she competed in the Technovation Challenge as part of the EPA Chica Squad. She never imagined she'd come back to introduce the same topics to the current students.
"It's been cool to see everything come full circle."Hope Horizon alum, Class of 2021
Creativity on a budget
That fall, each student was given minimal robot parts: wheels, a motor, and wire. With virtual coaching, they each built a robot to compete in a drag race. One used a shoe box. Another a coffee cup. "I was impressed with their creativity and knowledge of robotics," she says. "They all had a functioning robot for the showcase."
She watched shy students open up week after week. One exclaimed at the end of a session, "What's next? What's next? I'll be sure to be here next week." Another, stuck and frustrated on his robot, met his coach outdoors to work through it. She watched the frustration turn to excitement. That student later invited his coach to his home, a small sign of how much the relationship had come to mean.
This is the loop Hope Horizon is built to create: a kid finds something they're good at, goes to college, and comes back to hand it to the next one. She is what it looks like when it works.