By Siri Doddapaneni
On May 1st, 2023, 4 JuSTEMagine volunteers from Omaha, Nebraska, and JuSTEMagine’s Greendale Chapter volunteers were awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award from PrairieSTEM for completing a certain amount of service hours for their organization. Prairie STEM, a non-profit that works to make STEM education more accessible to students around Nebraska, recognized these volunteers for their committed service to Prairie STEM’s STEM kit curriculum design, summer camps, and external ventures.
Awardees included JuSTEMagine President junior Francesca Vidal, who completed 104 hours for a bronze medal in the Young Adults category. Sophomore Siri Doddapaneni, Vice President, was awarded gold in the Teens category for 104 hours. 2022-23 JuSTEMagine President and 23-24 Advisor Claire Cenovic was given silver in the Young Adults category for 174 hours. Freshman Aashish Gopisetty and Greendale Chapter members Evie Skibicki, Ava Scheuer, Ari Scheuer, and Cole Bucek were also awarded various medals for almost 1,000 hours of Prairie STEM service from JuSTEMagine.
Volunteer services provided by awardees included volunteering at Prairie STEM’s summer camps in the summer of 2022 (examples are the Drones and Rockets camp, STEAM Lab camp, and World of Wizardry camp). Some volunteers were able to virtually participate through Prairie STEM’s ESports initiative and their STEM kit curriculum design. Prairie STEM also hosted and attended several STEAM nights at various schools and events such as Hutchfest in Omaha, NE, and the Acton Children’s Business Fair.
At the event on May 1st, volunteers were greeted at the Prairie STEM facility with cupcakes and cookies. When the ceremony began, Prairie STEM CEO Alan Wang gave a short speech about Prairie STEM’s mission, activities, and expansion. Volunteers were individually called up to the front of the room, and recognized by the Prairie STEM staff with a few words of appreciation. Volunteers were awarded their respective medals, a certificate from Prairie STEM, and a signed letter from United States President Joe Biden.
Congrats to Francesca, Siri, Claire, Aashish, Evie, Ava, Ari, and Cole for this impressive feat!
If you are interested in earning the President’s Volunteer Service Award for Prairie STEM, visit this link: https://prairiestem.org/ . Volunteer with JuSTEMagine at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hq2tqvCMwTfMhzFk9cRxPTNNOTDpYlTHuSFE1uKQvdA/viewform?edit_requested=true
Comments