Founded by first-generation student Carolina Perez, STEM HIVE is the embodiment of community engagement and the American Dream.
Meet The Team
In 2018, Carolina and her lab mate, Karla Jacome, a fellow CUNY Student with Ecuadorian-American parents. They started STEM Hive to introduce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to other first-generation, low-income students. She started STEM Hive with the hope to create an engaging program for every student regardless of their background, race, or gender. Her experiences from being a first-generation college student to learning how to code have driven her to create a community of people like her on a path of STEM.
Carolina Perez and Karla Jacome, CEO and CFO of STEM HIVE
Daniel Gaston and Veronica Juca, CTO and COO of Stem Hive
They are joined by fellow CUNY students Daniel Gaston, a Hatian American, and Veronica Juca, an immigrant hailing from Ecuador.
While experimenting with different technologies by participating in hackathons in 2018, Daniel met Carolina and Karla, and thus joined the team shortly thereafter.
In 2019, Veronica met Karla and Carolina, and asked if STEM Hive could plan with her an Engineering Day event for the children in the Woodside community. The event was a success and joined the team.
Karla Jacome with STEM HIVE students in Ecuador.
Their Method
Mentoring, Educating, Rewarding
“We are fostering a community where students have the opportunity to have a mentor who shares a similar background, interest, and is close in the age range to their mentees. We are curating a training program for high school students who have participated in STEM activities to develop leadership skills through mentoring. Younger students are paired with trained mentors to build a long-lasting relationship.
“Our hands-on programs focus on exposure to relevant content and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. With our programs, students learn skills that are developed and showcased during a final expo to friends, family, and partners. Our programs are easily customized based on group size, location, and age range.
Emblems are our reward platform for students to track the skills learned from workshops and redeem them for career opportunities. Students are introduced to resume building and have premium access to resources to act on their interests. “
Educating in the Pandemic
This past summer, STEM HIVE partnered with Carlo Nicolau, an award winning composer, artist, and professor. From New York City to Ecuador, the program educated students about music composition through GarageBand, culminating in a final project in where each student wrote a verse in a song. For those students that did not have access to adequate technology, especially the ones who were based in Ecuador, they recorded their lyrics over WhatsApp. The result? Global collaboration, education, and fun despite a pandemic.
Schedule for the program.
One People. One New York.
The story of STEM Hive is one of perserverance, community, resillience, and the American Dream. Immigrants and their children make up the foundation of this country, their dreams setting an example of excellence that defines who we are as Americans. For Carolina, Karla, Gaston, and Veronica, they are doing just that for my generation and the ones that will come after.
“Immigrants. They Get the Job Done.”
Learn more and support STEM Hive at their website
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