Are you a Comic-Con fan?! ??
Thanks to the generosity of IF/THEN and my IF/THEN sister Samantha Wynns had the incredible opportunity to return to San Diego Comic-Con for the third year in a row! This year was especially exciting because, for the first time, I was a moderator instead of a panelist. ??
I moderated a session called "The Science of the Three-Body Problem" (https://lnkd.in/drBwtzvW), which was both challenging and rewarding. Moderating a room is quite different from being on the panel, but with the help of our amazing panelists — Gracie Ermi, Earyn McGee, Beata Mierzwa, Lisa Will, Perla Myers, and Karla Reyes — the session was a success! We had a full house, with people even waiting for a spot to enter, and the feedback was incredibly positive. ??
Comic-Con is always a time for reconnecting, re-energizing, and learning from fellow IF/THEN Ambassadors. It’s such a privilege to see the amazing work each of my 14 sisters is doing in their fields. I look forward to it every year and hope to continue being a part of it!
On the philanthropic side, we hosted multiple events at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. One of the highlights was a BioBlitz Dungeons & Dragons themed game where students learned about science and the environment. I got to interact with them as they shared their thoughts on plants, and together we created a tree out of leaves they designed with their environmental ideas. ??
We also introduced students to coding using Nuevo Foundation workshops. They got to program Adafruit circuits with tangerines, triggering sounds and lights when the tangerine was touched! ?? It was so much fun, and by the end, students were even creating shapes with Python.
Finally, we wrapped up with a mentoring session for high schoolers, where all 15 IF/THEN Ambassadors answered their STEM-related questions. It was inspiring to hear their interests and goals!
Huge thanks to Sam for making it all happen. Comic-Con always fills me with new ideas and recharges my passion to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. ??
P.S. I wore my first real costume this year—still a work in progress, but I’m getting there! ??
#SDCC #STEMeducation #IFTHENAmbassador #NuevoFoundation #GiveBack #ScienceForAll #ComicCon2024