
Meet Our STEAM Ambassadors
2023-2024 STEAM Ambassadors
Zeenia Najmi
Zeenia studies economics with a minor in sustainability and hopes to bring these skills to a career oriented to environmental sustainability. Her work as a STEAM Ambassador draws on her experiences in different disciplines, as she helps to plant seeds of curiosity in school children.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“For me, being a STEAM ambassador means being able to assist in building our future. By creating lesson plans mixing art and science, I hope to leave a memorable mark on children’s growth.”
Jasmin Perez Arango:
Jasmin is currently a student at CSUSM majoring in Liberal Studies with an area of focus in Bilingual Spanish. She plans to become an elementary teacher.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“Being a STEAM ambassador for me means to have the opportunity to gain experience with project planning, creativity, teamwork, and being able to go out of my comfort zone. This has helped me find ways to work with science and art to make learning fun and interesting for young children!”
Emma Avila
Emma R. Avila is a Liberal Studies major with an area of focus in Art. She plans on becoming an elementary art or kindergarten teacher. Emma strives to express her love for the arts to younger students so that they are able to expand their creativity throughout their life.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“As STEAM Ambassadors, our aim is to enlighten younger students about the interconnectedness of various subjects they encounter in their education, including literature, science, mathematics, and art.”
Melanie Wollrabe
Melanie, the STEAM Ambassador coordinator, is majoring in Liberal Studies with a focus in Art. She hopes to become an elementary school teacher after college. Being a STEAM Ambassador has been a great opportunity for her to gain experience with project planning and working with kids.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“To me, being a STEAM Ambassador means inspiring young students to create with both art and science, and even storytelling! I found that involving art and storytelling with science has helped to make lessons both more fun and easier to understand. As a STEAM Ambassador, I can help to bring creativity to science!”
Derrick Nguyen
Derrick is a communications major who also has a background in fashion design. He hopes to eventually go into the fashion industry after graduation.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
"As a new STEAM ambassador, I have been getting more opportunities to spread the word about art and science to the public. I am so excited to be a part of such an amazing and creative team!"
Angelina Parra
Angelina Parra is majoring in Biotechnology with a minor in Visual Arts and Biological Sciences. She aspires to become a veterinarian and establish a rehabilitation center for neglected animals. Serving as a STEAM ambassador has provided her with valuable opportunities to teach children and deepen her knowledge of science and art.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“Being an ambassador means having the ability to share my knowledge with youth. It’s fascinating to see how excited they get when they discover something new. There’s nothing quite like witnessing children’s enthusiasm as they experience something for the first time. I find this to be beautiful, as it can create new opportunities and ignite curiosity in children. My love for STEM grew from a similar experience, where I became captivated by how the body works and how complex it is, which fueled my desire to learn more about it.”
Gia Mie Basobas
Mie is an applied physics major with a focus on astrophysics. She hopes to become a researcher in the field and is also interested in art and wants to find a way for both to coexist in her future work.
What does it mean to be a STEAM ambassador to you?
“To me, being a STEAM ambassador means finding ways for all students to learn in their own unique style and encouraging that. By combining art and science, students learn to apply creative thinking to subjects outside of art, and students who are more visual or hands-on learners are able to learn in a way that best suits them.”
Previous STEAM Ambassadors
2023-2024
2022-2023
- Kodie Gerritsen * STEAM Ambassador Coordinator
- Amy Brunolli * STEAM Designer
- Aidelen Montoya
- Melanie Wollrabe
-
Jasmin Perez
2021-2022
- Aidelen Montoya * STEAM Ambassador Coordinator
- Amy Brunolli * STEAM Designer
- Jenna Portis
- Jade Comagong
- Melanie Wollrabe
- Kodie Gerritsen
- xochitl Perez Arango
2020-2021
- Amy Brunoli
- Kodie Gerritsen
- Leah Amparan
- Tarah Durham
- Raelene Pelos
- Rebecca Robinson