Students at KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate are making strides in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with their latest project, which has been selected as the state winner in the 14th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a nationwide competition designed to empower students in grades 6 through 12 to leverage the power of STEM to create innovative solutions addressing critical issues in their local communities. Each State Winner wins a package of $12,000 in technology for their school.
KIPP students have designed a device to measure the Ultraviolet Index (UV) to tackle the problem of skin cancer. The project team aims to develop an app or website that will transfer the data collected by the device and indicate when UV levels are high to alert users when sunscreen is necessary.
“We want to bring more awareness about the dangers of skin cancer, especially late-stage skin cancer, which is frequently under-diagnosed among people of color,” Director of Academics, Secondary Science, Technology, and Engineering Allen Wang said.
Jasmin Linares is an 11th grader at KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate. She shared what inspired her idea for the project.
“I have always been interested in medicine. I grew up in Lynn, my community, and I was surrounded by people of color. When I got older, I started learning more about discrepancies in medicine, especially when it came to health outcomes for people of color. I was shocked to learn that people of color are often diagnosed at much later stages with melanoma than white people and thus are at higher risk of death,” Linares said. “This motivated me to want to use my knowledge of science and math to solve a problem, and I want to pursue a career in the medical field to address racial discrepancies.”
The team that worked on this project consisted of 13 students. Wang said the students have been very engaged, meeting two to three times a week, sometimes late after school hours. Wang said students at KIPP have all the tools to tackle this problem.
“We really try to use the science, technology, and engineering skills that they’ve learned to build something and make a difference,” Wang said. “I get excited, I get really passionate about STEM. That’s what I’ve been doing here for the last nine years.”
Head of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Ann Woo spoke about the STEM competition’s impact on students.
“The interest and passion for students to find who they are and what they love to do with their time and how to channel all of that into something really impactful is an amazing experience to be part of,” Woo said. “Many students tell us that through the competition, they are able to find their voice, to find their tribe of kids who like what they like.”
Woo said that the feeling of inclusion and learning a skill empowers students. She said the competition started in the United States and has now spread worldwide.
“The best projects, the ones with the most excitement and energy, are student-driven,” Woo said. “On top of that, it’s really the perspective of our young people, students who see the world in a clear way.”
The contest is a year-long competition. The KIPP project stood out for many reasons, including a “sense of empathy and understanding of the community around them.”
“Oftentimes, we have misconceptions about the way things are and the way things should be, and the students at KIPP Academy were really able to identify a real data point of misinformation for them,” Woo said. “The northeast is not where the sun shines the most, as the students had identified. The fact that they were able to understand and recognize the misconception and really try to find a way to debunk it and share it with the community was something that I think is really meaningful.”
The national contest is next in the competition. Ten National Finalists will be selected in late March, and each will be awarded a $50,000 prize package. Then, in April, Solve for Tomorrow will name three schools as National Winners, each of whom will receive $100,000 in prize packages consisting of Samsung tech and classroom supplies.
