While collecting materials for a different project, I couldn’t ignore the conditions of the neighborhoods around me. Improvised landfills dotted the outskirts of neighborhoods, and the smell was overwhelming. These weren’t isolated incidents; they were symptoms of larger infrastructural failures. In these moments, I realized how deeply engineering is connected to societal change.

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Engineering isn’t just about building structures or designing machines; it’s about creating solutions to problems that people face every day. With that realization, I knew I couldn’t ignore the stark educational divide in the Dominican Republic. Public and private school students don’t share the same opportunities, and the statistics are alarming: only half of enrolled students graduate high school nationally. STEM education, in particular, is often seen as inaccessible to those in under-resourced schools.

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This educational gap drove me to reboot my brother’s organization, Engineering Promise. I saw its potential to bridge this divide by offering advanced STEM education to low-income students. Through partnerships with organizations like Fé & Alegría, the Carol Morgan School, and SOS Children’s Villages, we’ve begun offering STEM classes led by members of the High School Engineering club. Using Lego robotics kits, we’ve found an engaging way to introduce engineering concepts to children who may have never considered such a path.

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The results, though modest, are promising. Each small victory fuels my desire to advocate further. Whether it’s a child discovering their love for building robots or a student expressing newfound confidence in their abilities, these moments remind me why I started this journey.