We are so thankful to the National Aviary, Duquesne University School of Science and Engineering, and Gecko Robotics for supporting our literacy mentoring program, RIF Everybody Wins! We recently had special guests from these partners at our in-person mentoring sites!
National Aviary: Cathy Schlott, the Director of Animal Programs and Experiences from the National Aviary, and Squire the Falcon were special guests at a mentoring session at Pittsburgh Weil. Cathy spoke to our 3rd grade mentees about her work and answered their questions about birds. Each student also received a copy of the book National Aviary: 70 Years of Excellence. This partnership likely inspired some future ornithologists and showed our students that if they do a lot of reading, future careers working with animals can take flight!
Duquesne University School of Science and Engineering: At Pittsburgh Faison, Dr. Phillip Palmer, Assistant Dean of the Duquesne University School of Science and Engineering, and 3 undergraduate students were special guests for a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) day at RIF Everybody Wins! — Biomedical Engineering major Miriam Freer, Environmental Science major Maddy Fitzgerald, and Forensic Science and Law major Travisia Wyatt. Miriam, Maddy, and Travisia spoke about their academic experiences and answered questions from students about futures in STEM and engineering. Every 1st grade student received a copy of I Want to Be an Engineer by Laura Driscoll to read with their mentor and take home. It was a great day for students, big and little, to learn with each other!
Gecko Robotics: A real robot visited Pittsburgh King for a special robotics-themed mentoring session! Britta Ulm, the Technical Program Manager at Gecko Robotics, and Anna Wagstaff, a robotics technician at Gecko Robotics and RIF reading mentor, visited and spoke with students about careers in robotics and answered their questions. All 1st grade students also received a copy of Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files – Rockin’ Robots by Andrea Beaty and Dr. Theanne Griffith so they can read more about robotics with their Reading Buddies. Like robots, students left the session charged up and ready to go learn more!
We are incredibly grateful to these partners and special guests for helping our students see the connections between reading and future careers in science-related fields! When you have inspiring experts at your reading mentoring sessions, Everybody Wins!
