How a Science Club Sparked a Community of Learners

When my kids were in middle school, their school didn’t have a certified science instructor. The teachers were doing their best, but I could tell they were overwhelmed and needed support. I wanted to help—and I missed seeing that spark of curiosity that science can bring—so I started a small after-school science club.

At first, we had ten students. We did simple experiments, explored how things worked, and laughed a lot when things didn’t go as planned. Within a year, that little club grew to more than sixty students—nearly a third of the school. Eventually, it became a full Varsity and Junior Varsity Science Olympiad team. The best part? Students who once said they “weren’t science people” were suddenly building catapults, designing labs, and discovering that they could do hard things.

When my kids moved on to high school, I carried that momentum forward by mentoring a FIRST Robotics team at a nearby school with limited resources and a large population of English language learners. We didn’t have fancy equipment, but we had determination—and a lot of creativity. I leveraged community college resources and local mentors to help the students build their first robot. Watching them go from uncertain ninth graders to confident team leaders was one of the most transformative experiences of my career.

Some of those students are now adults, raising their own families, and still talk about how those experiences changed the way they see themselves. They might not have all become scientists or engineers, but they learned that they could tackle big challenges and that they belonged in any room they walked into.

Looking back, I don’t regret a single late night or chaotic Saturday. What started as an after-school club became a community movement—a reminder that small actions, rooted in care and curiosity, can change lives.