Holding on to Wonder

On a recent afternoon at the Southampton Road Elementary School in Westfield, Mass., three Smith students and a handful of fourth graders are absorbed in the happy chaos of a robotics challenge.

Before an audience of teachers, administrators, parents, and siblings, the youngsters hunch over their laptops, programming small robot vehicles made of Legos to move through a maze laid out on a floor mat.

Before giving the “go” signal to start the course, Kristine Le ’25, Smith’s Robotics Outreach Initiative team leader, thanks administrators at Southampton Road for hosting the seven-week after-school program.

“It means a lot for you to have given us your students’ time,” she says. “We’re so excited to show you what they can do!”

Le—a biochemistry major whose passion for robotics began in high school—created the outreach initiative with support from Smith’s Jandon Center for Community Engagement. The program, which is sponsored by the center, organizes teams of students to create robotics workshops and classes for learners of all ages. In addition to K-12 schools, community partners have included the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, the Connecticut Science Center, the People’s Science Fair, and the Girl Scouts.

Smith team member Dina Sehnawi ’26 says working with fourth graders at Southampton Road this semester meant adapting a previously used fifth-grade curriculum to their vocabulary and learning level.

“It was a good skill and we learned as a group,” says Sehnawi. “I’m an engineering major interested in community engagement, so this outreach program was a perfect combination for me.”

Team member Berenize Cornelio-Gutierrez ’28 says she learned some important lessons from the younger students.

“The curiosity they always brought and their unique approach to solving challenges for their robots is something we should all admire,” she says. “They taught and reminded me not to let go of that wonder.”

Bringing science programs to students who might not otherwise have access to them is the reason Cornelio-Gutierrez says she joined the Jandon Center’s STEAM outreach team. “Being able to represent my diversity and be someone in STEAM for these children is part of the change I want to be part of,” she says.

Jessica Hanson, science and technology teacher at Southampton Road School, says having Smith students in charge of the robotics program “has been a fantastic opportunity for our kids.”

“They’ve been so motivated and engaged,” Hanson says. “They’ve learned a lot of vocabulary skills, life skills, problem solving. When I see the students in the hallway they always say, ‘I can’t wait till Tuesday!’” for the next robotics session with the Smithies.

As the final maze challenge gets underway, the classroom echoes with laughter and words of encouragement, as the younger students test their coding with the help of their Smith coaches.

The first robot on the mat, following programming commands from a student’s laptop, starts out slowly before suddenly rocketing its way out of the maze. A second is guided by colored panels that team members have programmed their Lego creation to recognize: red for one direction, green for another. After completing the course, each robot does a short, celebratory dance—to applause from the audience.

Since it was launched in 2021 with the aim of serving students underrepresented in the sciences, Smith’s Robotics Outreach Initiative has evolved from one-time workshops and tabling events, to longer-term programs in area schools.

Le, who is currently looking at graduate school programs, hopes the initiative will continue to grow and offer learning opportunities for both participants and Smith outreach team members.

What has she learned from being part of the program?

“I’ve learned what it takes to really do community engagement,” Le says. “It’s important to come at this from a humble stance; it’s a partnership.”

“And you have to be adaptable,” she adds. “Working with all types of learners, you have to adjust how you talk and teach. Sometimes, you just have to ditch the worksheets!”