5 Year Anniversary!

Date: 3/19/2025

Written By: Ashley Tarrant (Chief Executive Officer)

In October, 2024, we celebrated the five year anniversary of The Be W.I.S.E Initiative! Growing from the vision of a single high school student into an organization impacting over 1,000 students annually, we have celebrated several remarkable milestones. Looking back on these last 5 years, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of our achievements and chart the path ahead as we continue empowering the innovators and leaders of tomorrow.

• October, 2019, marked the start of the My W.I.S.E Kid program in Olentangy City Schools. W.I.S.E began teaching science and engineering in the Y-club after school child care through interactive experiments.

• October, 2020, is when W.I.S.E became officially registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, establishing our mission to create equitable access to STEM education and empower the innovators and leaders of tomorrow.

• June, 2021, was the start of the first annual WISE summer camp! An immediate success, this program helped us expand into underserved communities in Columbus by partnering with YMCA’s near inner city schools where we engage nearly 200 students each year.

• October, 2021, saw the expansion of the My W.I.S.E Kid in Dublin City Schools Latchkey program, doubling the size of the program. Since then, W.I.S.E volunteers have taught in over 30 schools each year.

• March, 2023, we announced our Innovation Labs model in the finals of the Ohio State University’s President’s Buckeye Accelerator competition, a startup pitch competition for student-founded organizations.  W.I.S.E also organized our first bi-annual Fundraising Gala to reflect on our progress and thank our wonderful community partners for their continued support.

• January, 2024, launched the first semester of FemSTEM Mentoring helping us to engage high school students in STEM career exploration and development programming.

These accomplishments reflect the dedication, drive, and passion of a phenomenal team of students who are determined to create opportunities within their communities, and the work continues full-speed ahead. In the next five years, we hope to see My W.I.S.E Kid and FemSTEM Mentoring become accessible to all students in Columbus while growing our reach into rural Ohio and beyond. To see this through, we are developing a series of in-home labs which will make impactful science education easier than ever and encourage family participation in promoting each student’s STEM education. Keep an eye out for the first drop of W.I.S.E Kits!

To wrap up, I want to reiterate the importance of creating opportunities for STEM outreach and engagement. While the culture of STEM fields in the US is changing, representation and visibility remain critical to the retention and success of students from underrepresented groups. W.I.S.E will continue to educate across STEM disciplines to inspire young students to pursue science and support them with mentorship as they seek out their paths. With an educated, engaged, and empowered network, W.I.S.E will help launch the next generation of innovators.