Volunteer Success Story: Aashi Mendpara

COVERGIRL AASHI MENDPARA FUTURE WOMAN IN STEM

Aashi Mendpara was a volunteer at Orlando Science Center for five years, helping with everything from Summer Camps to special events, and eventually joining the Catalyst Cohort. She was also on the cover of our last issue of SCOPE magazine!

“The Science Center showed me the power of STEM education and of letting children explore,” Aashi told us when we caught up this summer. “It’s so interesting to see how other people’s unique interests and passions develop, and that, in turn, has always inspired me to develop my own passions. The Science Center has given a lot of people the opportunity to explore things they would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise.”

Aashi was born and raised in Orlando and credits the Science Center as the one place she could explore anything she wanted. “People seem to think the Science Center is just a playroom, but it’s so much more than that,” she said. “I had the ability to explore without anyone stopping me and with tons of people supporting me.”

Aashi began her journey as a youth volunteer in Grade 8. She didn’t know that she was also beginning a lifelong love affair with STEM subjects. In Grade 10, Aashi founded GirlsGotSTEAM, a nonprofit that empowers girls and underprivileged youth through workshops, experimentation, and mentorship. “It was never really a plan to start a non-profit,” she joked. “Teachers really want to help their students, but they don’t always have the resources. A lot of online kits cost money. I wanted to help provide experiences to students who don’t have the convenience of the Science Center.”

One of those experiences is mentorship, a subject that Aashi is extremely passionate about. She credits her success thus far to her mentors, a diverse group of Science Center peers, beloved teachers, and, of course, her parents. When Aashi reached Grade 11, her mentors encouraged her to join the Catalyst Cohort at the Science Center. The program was designed to help students develop skills in collaboration, public speaking, and project management. Though her experience was cut short due to the changes brought on by the pandemic, Aashi feels the Cohort helped her step out of her comfort zone.

After high school, Aashi enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, where she is now pursuing a double major in Neuroscience (BS) and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities (BA). Aashi spent the summer in Baltimore for a research internship with the JHU Applied Physics Lab.

Her team is training a machine learning algorithm to read electron microscopy images of a mouse’s visual cortex. The project is part of a larger, federally funded project that aims to reverse-engineer brain algorithms for artificial intelligence. The internship also deals with equitable education, another of Aashi’s passions.

Moving forward, Aashi hopes to combine her STEM interests with the historical frameworks of activism and advocacy in medicine, placing special focus on the social determinants of health. While the future is still in flux, Aashi thinks back fondly on her past experiences with Orlando Science Center. “I don’t even know if I have the proper words to describe what an impact the Science Center had on me. I use the skills that I developed there every day at Hopkins. I use them when I’m working in Baltimore schools.”

Aashi says she’ll talk about her time at the Science Center forever, and she encourages people to volunteer early. STEM has taught her that plans change, it’s okay to take chances on new things, and mistakes are inevitable. “Whatever you do, make sure you’re happy doing it,” she laughs. “I know that’s cliché, but everyone’s passions are so unique! They should take time to reflect on what they really enjoy. They might find interests they never thought they’d have.”

If you’re interested in supporting GirlsGotSTEAM, please reach out to info@girlsgotsteam.org.