RPI Engineering Ambassadors: Trip to the Bronx 2024

"The Bronx Trip has been extremely impactful for both the students we visit as well as the RPI students who attend. We’ve been working with the students at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx for about 7 years now in a variety of programs and have seen individual students grow immensely as our visits have inspired the school to start implementing its own Engineering curriculum. This year, we will be able to expand our outreach and visit multiple schools during our trip." - Sonu Chadalavada

The Mission 

The RPI Engineering Ambassadors (EAs) are a group of RPI engineering students devoted to inspiring younger students with what they learn in their respective majors, while also educating them on the latest technological breakthroughs and real-world challenges. The RPI EAs visit public and private K-12 classrooms and support after-school and Saturday morning science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) clubs. In the classroom, the EAs share presentations and incorporate engaging hands-on activities that show the real-world applications of STEM.

What You’re Supporting 

Your donation will support our 2024 trip to St. Raymond High School Academy for Girls and St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Bronx, and Riverside High School. We have partnered with St. Raymond’s school annually and now Riverside High School to introduce their students to a variety of STEM topics through EA’s well-developed presentations and hands-on activities. The Bronx trip is different from traditional EA school visits because of its location as well as its longer duration (most of our outreach is done in the NY Capital Region during single school days). The Bronx trip is usually a one or two-night trip, which gives EA ample time to complete the school visit as well as participate in social bonding in New York City. 

A major outcome of all the work that EA does is making engineering and STEM topics accessible to young students of all backgrounds, particularly those who do not have a strong STEM program in their middle or high school. Students in this category may feel like engineering is too hard for them, which is why one of EA’s slogans is “Change the Conversation.” It is rewarding for EAs to see the impact of their work. The trip to St. Raymond’s in the Bronx is an exciting opportunity for both EA as an organization and individual EAs to connect with a different community and change the conversation in as many schools as possible. Our involvement at the high school has also led to further development of their STEM curriculum and has truly inspired some of the students there.

We need to raise $5,000 for Engineering Ambassadors to visit schools in the Bronx, New York.

Who We Are

The RPI Engineering Ambassadors was created in the spring of 2011, and has had more than 120 ambassadors take part in the organization's activities over the years. Since its inception, the RPI Engineering Ambassadors have reached over 30,000 students in the Capital Region and beyond. We achieve our mission by presenting engineering topics directly to students at their schools. Each presentation has an accompanying hands-on activity to drive home the STEM topics discussed in the presentation. Our organization is also very involved with events that promote STEM on campus, including FIRST LEGO League, National Manufacturing Day, Exploring Engineering Day, and many more.