The Overlooked Kid Who Became the Role Model She Needed | Anastasia Zagrai | TEDxABQ

Anastasia Zagrai, a recent graduate of Socorro High School in rural New Mexico and an incoming civil engineering student at MIT, questions who is best placed to inspire future scientists and engineers. Drawing on her work as an engineering researcher, Science Olympiad competitor and founder of Socorro Sparks, she describes teaching hands-on STEM experiences to local students. Her central argument is that students are often held back less by a lack of interest than by fear of being wrong. The talk was given at an independently organized TEDx event.

• Rural STEM education through the Socorro Sparks program
• Fear of being wrong as a barrier to student participation
• Who can act as inspiring role models in science and engineering
• Talk given at an independently organized TEDx event

Anastasia Zagrai reframes who's equipped to inspire future scientists, asking if it's not the experts we'd expect at all. Anastasia Zagrai is a recent graduate of Socorro High School in rural New Mexico and an incoming civil engineering student at MIT. As an engineering researcher, Science Olympiad competitor, and founder of Socorro Sparks, she creates hands-on STEM experiences for local students. Anastasia believes students are often held back not by lack of interest, but by fear of being wrong. Drawing on her experience teaching rural youth through Socorro Sparks, her talk asks a provocative question: what if the people best equipped to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers aren't who we expect at all? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx