Update From Our Teens!

One team. One community.

A whole lot of support.

By Irene Gao

The Lexington Youth STEAM Team was fortunate to work with the Cary Library Foundation to host an event assisting the Foundation with its ChiRP! website design, engaging the Lexington community with a student hackathon event. We reached out to both younger students with a passion for STEM and older students interested in leadership. The Cary Library Foundation was supportive and beyond helpful in the coordination of this event.

Morning tutorial sessions on graphic design and web development hosted by Kevin Zhu, Ethan Shao, Jaden Leung, and Baoren Liu ran smoothly, while other STEAM team members circulated the room to answer questions. Following the tutorial and lunch, the students were divided into over twenty small groups. Each group worked on a website design. These designs were evaluated and six groups judged winners based on key metrics.

The event's success was a direct result of the rapport and passion held by the members of the STEAM Team and the supportive adults within the community. The mother of 9th grade participant, Andrew Pan, noted that “to be able to design a website in just a few hours with the help of the Lexington STEAM volunteers was incredible.” For participants such as Andrew, this experience not only taught about computer science and coding, but also provided inspiration for serving the public good.

The work on the Foundation website has just begun. The STEAM team will dedicate more time and coordinate with the Cary Library Foundation on further site development. We will continue to contribute to our community, and we hope to encourage others to share our passion for both STEAM and for community service.