A unique project from two students at University School, a private school in Hunting Valley and Shaker Heights, is reaching across multiple divides to teach Cleveland refugee and immigrant students about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
University School Seniors Zain Anwar and Vishwum Kapadia founded Intersect STEM, now its own nonprofit, two years ago to try to encourage high schoolers to pursue STEM careers, especially students of color.
At a meeting after school in November 2024 with students at Cleveland’s Natividad Pagan International Newcomers Academy, Kapadia and Anwar taught students in Spanish about how to make “elephant toothpaste.” They mixed yeast, hydrogen peroxide, water and dish soap to create a colorful foaming chemical reaction.
“We're working on this main part, which is the workshops and really teaching these students to get interested in science and maybe in the future one day pursue a career in science,” Kapadia said of Intersect STEM. “And the other part of our program, which we are still working on, is the pilot program, which is where we will have students embark on their own scientific research, where they can pursue things that they're interested in and ideas from start to finish.”
Students at the International Newcomers Academy — all newcomers to the U.S., whether they are immigrants or refugees — do not speak English, and typically attend for at least two years until they have enough proficiency to learn at other Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools, said Jacqueline Miranda. Miranda, with the Cleveland Hispanic services nonprofit Esperanza, runs an after-school tutoring program at the school that hosts the Intersect STEM lessons.
“They say, ‘can we do this, the same (project), at another school like they are doing?’ It’s very inspirational for my students,” Miranda said.
Other lessons Anwar and Kapadia have brought to the Newcomers Academy and to Denison Elementary School, nearby on Cleveland's West Side included helping students make small catapults and stress-testing models of bridges.
The two students said the lessons they’ve been giving have also helped them with their Spanish language skills.
“Even our (Spanish) teacher has told us, 'You know? It's been helping you guys,'” Anwar said. “We've seen how much better you guys have been doing”
After they graduate high school, Anwar and Kapadia said they hope fellow students at University School will continue their initiative.
