Empowering Students: Dragon STEM Committee’s Year in Review

New to Kent Place this year, the Dragon STEM Committee has already made an impact on the school community. The committee is led by Sunitha Yara P ’33, in collaboration with Maura Crowe, KPS STEM Coordinator, and Sue Tracy P ’29, Chair of the Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) Department. From exploring AI with experts, to exciting excursions, to inspiring panels, the committee has helped bring enriching STEM opportunities to students across all divisions.

Exploring the World of AI with Fifth-Graders
Fifth-grade CS&E classes are diving into the world of artificial intelligence, and students are even coding their own AI chatbots. Alejo Martinez P ’34 ’32, CEO of Propelling Tech, visited the fifth-graders and spoke about technology-driven innovations, with a focus on AI. “I used to think AI was just a robot,” says one student. “Now I understand that AI is programmed to learn, grow, and adapt like humans.” Another noted, “I used to think AI wasn’t very powerful but now I see it is, and it should be regulated.” Through this experience, students came to view AI not as a threat, but as a tool for good.

Upper School Assembly: AI and the Investment World
Upper School students gathered for an assembly featuring Raj Bakhru P ’33 ’35, cofounder and CEO of Blue Flame AI, an AI-native alternative investment management company. Mr. Bakhru explained how AI is being integrated into investment management and how it will likely shape future industries and careers. One fascinating prediction that captured the students’ attention: Within the next five years, many households will have humanoid robots assisting with everyday chores.

NJIT Field Trip: A Day of Discovery
A group of Upper School students visited the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for a hands-on experience in collegiate-level CS&E. The day included presentations by NJIT’s College of Computing and a tour of the Makerspace. A highlight was meeting Senjuti Basu Roy P ’34 and her research team, who showcased such innovations as the Go2 Robotic Dog and immersive virtual-reality games.

KPS Hackathon + Wikithon: Innovation in Action
Skylar Li ’26, Anna Bulto ’26, Alisha Gupta ’28, and Angela Hong ’25, under the direction of Judy Bianco, Upper School CS&E teacher, organized an all-day Hackathon and Wikithon. The participants worked in teams to create coding solutions to real-world challenges and attended thought-provoking presentations. Ali Dadgar P ’31, a Columbia University professor, gave a talk titled “The Renaissance of Artificial Intelligence.” Later, an all-women panel of AI experts shared their insights and experiences in the field.

Upper School Women in STEM Panel
Continuing the celebrations of National Engineers Week, Upper School students and faculty attended the annual Women in STEM Panel. Panelists were Jen Schwarz P ’31, senior vice president, Engineering Services & Technology Planning at Disney; Sharon Sumal P ’34 ’38, lead, US Migraine, Internal Communications at AbbVie; Chao Zhang P ’33, head of fraud and verification at Amazon Advertising; and Nicole Selzer, process engineer at AK Stamping Co.

Middle School TREP$ Shark Tank
As part of their TREP$ project, sixth-graders pitched their business plan and product(s) to a group of “sharks” and gained valuable tips, pointers, and advice. The feedback is important for the young enTREPreneurs as they refine their prototypes and prepare them for sale at the culminating TREP$ Marketplace on May 15.

Upper School Externship at NYSE
On International Women’s Day, 10 Upper School students traveled to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to meet Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group. The students joined Ms. Martin on the floor of the exchange during the closing bell.

Middle School STEM Team Expert Visit
Kevin Cai P ’29 ’31 volunteered to join a Middle School STEM Team practice to help the group as they learned about optics. He explained aspects of trigonometry and showed the team how to use a graphing calculator.

Many thanks to the members of the Dragon STEM Committee. Your vision, generosity, expertise, and commitment to supporting STEM at KPS is empowering students and shaping future innovators. 

Learn more about the STEM Program at Kent Place here.