As Mrs. Kemp’s class piled out of her room for the day, Carlos stayed behind and sat next to her at her desk.
“So you want to start a venture, but have no idea what you should sell,” Mrs. Kemp said. “Well, what are your interests?”
“I don’t know,” Carlos said, looking at the ground and swinging his feet.
“Well, is there anything you enjoy doing at school?” Mrs. Kemp asked.
“I mean, not really.”
“What about when you’re home?”
Carlos shrugged.
“I think it’s pretty cool when my dad talks about his job,” he said. “He fixes air conditioners and stuff. But what does that have to do with school?”
“Well,” Mrs. Kemp said. “Schools tend to focus on the science, technology, and math parts of ‘STEM’, but not so much with engineering.”
Carlos raised an eyebrow. Mrs. Kemp pointed to several supplies that sat on a shelf in the back of the classroom. There sat popsicle sticks, glue, and even a 3D printer.
“Can you think of anything you might be able to do with those?” Mrs. Kemp asked. Carlos followed her gaze and his eyes landed on the materials she was referring to. “You know part of engineering is problem solving. Really, all of Micro is.”
Carlos thought about engineering and how it connected to what his dad for a living. Seeing as how he really looked up to his dad, he could see this working. He looked back at his teacher as she asked her next question.
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“Maybe, like, fix cars or something,” Carlos said, unsure of himself. But, there was no reason to be as a lightbulb brightened in his head. “Wait, could I make cars out of those popsicles.”
“I’m sure it’s doable.”
Carlos began to beam with delight. With this, he felt like he contributing something to the school along with doing what he liked.
Over the next few weeks, Carlos got his business up and running with several employees selling cars, planes, and robots to the entire school.
“Can you think of anything you might be able to do with those?” Mrs. Kemp asked. Carlos followed her gaze and his eyes landed on the materials she was referring to. “You know part of engineering is problem solving. Really, all of Micro is.”
Carlos thought about engineering and how it connected to what his dad for a living. Seeing as how he really looked up to his dad, he could see this working. He looked back at his teacher as she asked her next question.
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“Maybe, like, fix cars or something,” Carlos said, unsure of himself. But, there was no reason to be as a lightbulb brightened in his head. “Wait, could I make cars out of those popsicles.”
“I’m sure it’s doable.”
Carlos began to beam with delight. With this, he felt like he contributing something to the school along with doing what he liked.
Over the next few weeks, Carlos got his business up and running with several employees selling cars, planes, and robots to the entire school.