Two Unlikely Partners Paving The Way For A Better Future: Faith And Funbotics

Evidence suggests that by participating in STEM summer programs, underrepresented communities of students are more likely to graduate from high school, attend four-year colleges, and earn STEM degrees

This is a story about two organizations who found a secret sauce for success in their attempt to increase access to STEM in their local community.

Hi, my name is Manya and I am a freshman at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. On October 8th, 2022, the DMV chapter of Funbotics held a 3D modeling and printing camp to introduce design and prototyping in our local area. It was my first time volunteering to teach others through Funbotics, a student led, non-profit promoting STEM to students from under-represented communities. After the camp, as I conversed with the parents, I realized that all the kids come from the same church, Rise Ministry that serves a predominantly hispanic community. That day was a great success and was a lot of fun for the volunteers and the students

I wondered how two organizations with seemingly different missions collaborated so effectively and I ventured to find out.

I realized that these parents wanted their kids to achieve great things. Their aspirations drove them to collaborate with an organization like Funbotics. I wondered if the ministry itself had the same driving factor.

I spoke to the Pastor of Rise Ministry, Pastor Alex. He couldn’t speak fluent English, so we used a translator for the interview.

When I asked him how he got connected with Funbotics, he said it was faith and belief in God that brought Funbotics to his community

It was really interesting to hear him speak about his faith - he attributed everything in his life to God - starting the ministry, meeting his wife, having a great family. I was now curious to know his thoughts on Technology and you are hearing the voice of the translator Teresa, who was also one of the parents from the camp.

I felt like the ministry had successfully navigated seemingly dichotomous concepts of Faith and Technology,. This is what I understood. Faith helps get through the worst experiences of Life and still endure And, technology; technology is the future, but it needn’t operate in a vacuum, it needn’t extricate itself from faith. They can co-exist and thrive.

Throughout this story, faith was instrumental in driving the collaboration between Rise Ministry and Funbotics and technology was the unifying factor between the communities. I was starting to see the different elements of the secret success sauce.

Of course, I couldn’t just leave the story like this. I had to find out from the founders of Funbotics what their ingredient was. I met with Pallavi and Pranav Avasarala and asked them about how they founded Funbotics.

Their story was inspiring in that they turned a negative experience, losing funding for their VEX robotics team, into a positive journey for so many.

As I went deeper into Funbotics’s story, I found that they didn’t separate technology and creativity. The two went hand in hand to create unique and fun experiences for the students. I think Pallavi captured the essence of what made them special when she said its not just math and science, its creativity. You could see this ideology reflected in the students after the camp. I found that the camp not only taught them 3D printing, but it sparked their imagination.

I finally figured out the secret sauce that made this collaboration a success. It was the discovery that technology didn’t need to be separate from faith or creativity. It was the parent’s aspirations, the ministry’s faith, and Funbotic’s knowledge and creativity that made October 8th a success and will open doors to a stunning future for everyone.