by CSO Chiara Scornavacca, ASPIRE Academy

Hello readers! I am Chief Science Officer Chiara from ASPIRE Academy at Connolly Middle School in Tempe. As a CSO, I have been able to spread STEM awareness throughout the community and inspire an interest in STEM possibilities.

I joined CSO when I was in seventh grade. It was a fantastic opportunity to explore and connect with others who have similar interests and work in fields of STEM. In my first year, I created Codes & Ciphers with my team for all learning levels.

This was presented at events such as Geeks Night Out and Southwest Maker Fest. We also presented the codes at my school for grades 6–8 and to our disabled, general education, and honors students. I joined the CSO Arizona Leadership Council, East Valley STEM Alliance, and DEI in STEM (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in STEM) Working Group.

As ambassadors of STEM, CSOs create action plans, which are projects that the CSOs create to spread awareness of STEM in their community, whether it be at their school, a public event or throughout the state. My action plan for this year is to present Codes & Ciphers to fifth-graders throughout the Tempe District and to present at elementary schools along with the team of CSOs from ASPIRE.

Part of my action plan to spread STEM awareness has been done with an electronics display for our disabled students at Connolly Middle School. My team and I collaborated with the electronics students to create an interactive showcase to include all our students, as it is important to give everyone an opportunity in STEM no matter what.

CSO is a program for students in grades 6–12, giving them many ways to make a difference in their lives and others. This program has given me many resources and opportunities to make dreams come true. CSOs do not just hope it happens— we make it happen!