No matter how affluent a community may be, each community has the same ratio of children mentally capable of transformative scientific and engineering work. Unfortunately, it is only in communities of relative wealth and privilege where children see their full potential most often tapped. Children born into low-income communities often lack the positive influence and encouragement that will lead them to study math and science.
The Ohana Matters Foundation strives to support education by reaching out to talented students in these disadvantaged communities.
The structure of the Mentorship program is focused on pairing young students of high academic potential with junior and senior high school student interns who will nurture them to pursue a college education and encourage them academically to maximize their success at the university level and into their careers.
Through outreach into schools, the older student interns will aim to inspire younger students to apply themselves in their math and science courses. Interns will meet with a small group of 9-12 year old students on a weekly basis to assist with math and science homework, contribute to inspirational projects, and supervise field trips to such cool science-inspiring locations such as the Ivanpah Solar Generation Station, the Hoover Dam, UNLV laboratories, Switch, the InNevation Center, etc.
Interns will be helping to ensure that this small cadre of students makes it to high school, ready to tackle AP calculus, chemistry, biology and physics and to prepare them for their future university studies in STEM fields.