Brillantes Program students and team
Introduction
We believe that knowledge is power, power that shines a light on our lives and the lives of others. This was the goal of our Brillantes Program in 2023. By educating the children in our communities, we can bring about a resplendent impact that empowers and creates social change.
Overview & Implementation
This year was the third consecutive year for our Brillantes Program. It serves 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students in the underserved community of Danlí. This year a total of 25 students were served. Brillantes Program is a 5 Saturday program that runs for a total of 25 hours.
The Brillantes Program provides early Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) career awareness and related mathematics skill development opportunities for middle school students. The program integrates active learning by allowing students to create and design hands-on projects. We also provide the opportunity for professional development of Honduran educators and facilitators.
Qualitative research was conducted on parents’ perceptions of the program and its possible impact on the career interests of the children.
Presenting the final project on Providing light to the Using the engineering
how to build a hydraulic generator stars and constellations design process to design and
build a strong bridge with
geometric mathematical elements
Closing Ceremony
Mathematics Professor Candy Rodriguez, Dr. Araceli Martinez Ortiz and Dr. Alejandra Sorto
handing out Brillantes Program certificates of participation during closing ceremony
On August 19th, in cooperation with our Honduran and Texas partners, the Manos de Dios Church hosted a closing ceremony for the Brillantes Program.
The closing ceremony consisted of the following:
● College fair with 3 guest speakers from Honduran Universities.
● Presentation and Q&A session with professors from UTSA and Texas State University, the creators of the Brillantes Program.
● A presentation of the final STEM projects by the Brillantes students
● Awarding of certificates of participation
Following the ceremony, a focus group discussion was conducted with the parents to gauge their thoughts and opinions of a faith-based out-of-school program such as the Brillantes Program and the impact on their children's future career decisions. A self-administered survey was conducted afterwards.
The Future
Brillantes students built a hydraulic generator with a turbine system
Manos has plans for Brillantes that extend into 2024, including a new cohort of middle school students, a program implementation handbook for communities interested inv adopting the program, and continued research data collection that will help us improve the Brillantes Program. We hope to bring in a wonderful new year full of shining prospects.
The Brillantes Program was made possible due to a grant from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee (PCIC). In addition, many thanks to all of our professional volunteers who made all of this possible!
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