When schools closed in response to the pandemic, I developed a project-based CAD program where elementary school students learned CAD over Zoom while making a fun project, such as a holiday ornament, refrigerator magnet, or key chain, using OnShape. I have taught the course to 2,000+ students over the last 5 years, in-person and online, including to Ukrainian refugee children in Warsaw, Poland.

When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan and banned girls from school, I decided to develop an initiative to help girls continue their education. I built 9 small mecanum rovers that can be remotely accessed and driven in real-time to reinforce programming lessons that I teach in Java and Python. I have been teaching programming to Afghan girls across 8 provinces in Afghanistan and in refugee camps in Pakistan for almost 3 years, and to students in my local San Diego area for 3 years. The Mission to Mars innovation received the Most Global Impact Award in the Jacob’s Teen Innovation Challenge (2024).

Combining my passions for musical theater and robotics, I developed a theater tech programming course. I used an Arduino microcontroller and an LED light ring to recreate Ursula’s seashell from The Little Mermaid. The seashell lights up when someone speaks into it. I use the light ring to teach students C++ programming by learning to program the LEDs. I have taught the course to hundreds of San Diego children over the last 2 years, and I was recognized on FOX 5 News.