LYNN — Mass STEM Hub announced the 2020 STEM Week Challenge Champions last week and a group of Lynn students were among the winners.
A team of three KIPP students was awarded third place in the challenge for designing an app called Track-vid, which would help track COVID-19 in low-income communities and offer guidance to people experiencing symptoms.
“I was surprised that my team got third but I also worked incredibly hard and I am proud of myself. I thought it was a really great challenge,” said Serena Porte, the team leader of the project that also included KIPP students Tatiana Iraheta and Melvin Ayala. “It is something that I would want to do again, obviously with a different reason for designing an app outside of COVID.”
“I am incredibly proud of my students. I know that Serena, Melvin, and Tatiana put a lot of effort into the project, especially figuring out the best way to showcase their app pitch and continuously iterating to improve their app design,” said KIPP science department chair Allan Wang. “Furthermore, our students have been in remote learning this entire time and this goes to show how powerful a project-based learning experience can be even in virtual learning.”
About 90 KIPP students took part in the STEM Week Challenge, an initiative from the Mass STEM Hub and One8 Foundation in which students applied content they learned in the classroom and engaged with partners in the industry to solve real problems.
Industry feedback and engagement is a critical component of the program. More than 200 volunteers across 61 companies participated by reviewing projects and giving tailored feedback.
This year, more than 300 teachers and more than 200 schools participated in the challenge statewide, representing an estimated 35,000 students.
“The projects submitted for the STEM Week Challenge reinforce how effective applied learning is when it comes to engaging students and driving authentic learning,” said Katherine Skrivan, Director of Mass STEM Hub. “We’re proud of all the students who took their learning to the next level by submitting their projects for review and feedback by STEM professionals.”
The Lynn team placed in the High School level, behind students from Everett High School and Maynard High School. Students from Amesbury were awarded first place at the elementary and middle school grade levels.
Lynn students and other winning teams will now have the opportunity to further collaborate with industry partners at IBM iX, Dell Technologies, and the New England Aquarium.
“I am very thankful to the support of Mass STEM Hub, PBL Works, and all the partners that made this opportunity available to the students,” said Wang. “It was a phenomenal learning experience that could not have been more timely.”
“I was happy that we won and they noticed our efforts in trying to make differences and improvements in our city of Lynn,” said team member Iraheta.
“Honestly I was surprised but I guess we did it!” added team member Ayala. “On a real note, y’all just can’t doubt yourself no matter how hard the task is.”
