Sharing a passion that has given her so much, Yashas Khatiwada has started a virtual robotics workshop for children aged 8-12.
The grade 10 student at Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School thought of the idea at the start of the first lockdown.
“At the beginning of the year when all the schools were closed and the province was in lockdown, it was very exhausting not having the ability to interact with my friends like we used to or do any extracurricular activities,” she shared. “I realized that it is even harder for younger kids as it is extremely important for them to have that social interaction they need and it is difficult to have that type of interaction through online school. To help with this issue, I decided to take what I enjoy and turn it into a program where kids can come in and learn while also having lots of fun in a safe way. With the help of my friend from Centennial, we spread the news about the Robotics class in our community and more than 10 students were interested! The class started at the beginning of January and has been running every Saturday ever since.”
Since then, the class has been thriving. The response from not only her students, but also their families, has been fantastic for Khatiwada to see.
“The kids who are in the program always let us know how much they are looking forward to our classes and how much they enjoy it! They especially love when we play games relating to coding and collaborating with their peers,” she said. “I have also had great feedback from the parents. The parents let me know that they loved the way their kids were being taught and their experience in the classes so they told their other family and friends about the program which allowed the program to have an overwhelming number of interested participants.”
And for Khatiwada, that interpersonal connection she is seeing between her students is something she can relate having had her passion for robotics lead her to find not only success in the classroom, but to find friendships among peers interested in STEM activities.
“During my grade 7 year at St. Patrick's Catholic School, I heard that there was a Lego Robotics Club running and out of curiosity, I decided to join the club. In the club, we assembled robots, learned how to code them and work through obstacles which had me instantly hooked. Since then, I joined the lego robotics team again in grade 8 and continued my love for robotics in high school where I joined BM’s Robotics team,” she said. “I loved the challenges, friendships, and unique experiences I got through Robotics which made me want to continue in the future.”
Although she still has two more years to decide, following secondary school Khatiwada is hoping to pursue a career in STEM.
“My dream job is to be an Aerospace Engineer. I would love to design spacecrafts and help with missions in outer space. I have always been fascinated with space and what lies beyond Earth and I love anything to do with designing, building, and seeing my ideas come to life,” shared Khatiwada. “Because of this, becoming an Aerospace engineer would be my dream career.”
Khatiwada is excited for an opportunity when she can hold the class in person, but for now she is enjoying her time virtually.
“I plan to continue my Robotics class and hopefully when COVID-19 clears up, I can hold them in real life!”